An inside look at life in the Los Angeles Eco-Village, where neighbors share everything from personal values to meals — and how they've had to adapt during a pandemic

Devon Fitzgerald is a five-year eco-village resident and the father of two young boys.Jessica Ruvalcaba

• Devon Fitzgerald lives with his fiance, Jessica Ruvalcaba, and their two children in the Los Angeles Eco-Village.
• They moved there five years ago because it was affordable and came with neighbors who shared their ideals of community-based living and biking culture.
• With COVID-19 stay-at-home orders in place, the residents' many potluck dinners are on hold, but they're having concerts in the courtyard where people stay far apart.
• "Emotionally, we do stuff for each other," said Fitzgerald.
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Devon Fitzgerald, a 30-year-old facial massage therapist living in a one bedroom apartment in Los Angeles with his fiancé, needed a change.

With 2015 set to usher in a marriage and a baby, he and his soon-to-be wife, Jessica Ruvalcaba, a future Waldorf School teacher, agreed that they weren't in search of a new apartment. What they needed was a community. The couple hoped to find an affordable space for their growing family that came with neighbors who shared their ideals of community-based living — and if a love of biking culture factored in, even better.

Enter the Los Angeles Eco-Village; an intentional community located near North Wilshire in the heart of Koreatown. The couple heard rumors about a communal courtyard with gardens, greywater washing machines (in which the water used to wash clothes is recycled to irrigate plants), and designated bulk food rooms, which all helped seal the deal.