What IS Cohousing? And WHAT would it look like?

So, My ideal cohousing community may look like this picture above, but with more of an Australian feel...
In a Cohousing community, people get together and live in a community. Cohousing acknowledges the need for each person to have her and his place to retreat, be a family unit and have independence, yet, people are able to walk out of their front door into a community with a difference..


What would 'this community' have out of your family home?


Firstly. GREEN. and plenty of it. A shared central reserve, with the houses surrounding it, a shared market garden, and also areas to house animals such as chickens, and a bush reserve. If the community is on the Melbourne fringe, it is likely to be surrounded within our duristriction with productive lands use for commercial agriculture,  which is lent to neighboring land owners for dairying and grazing purposes. 
The central reserve would feature things such as a covered rotunda, BBQ area, and a childrens' play area. Next to the reserve, the centre of the community,  a community house would sit proud.
The community house will be a shared resource of community members, and a place where we may share a group meal a few times a week. It will have a kitchen, and maybe a meeting room, lounge, a TV room (the house could also be set up to provide Family day care during the week). It may have a purpose as a double-storey home, which, for the purposes of our proposed Female-led community, would be ideal as a Women's retreat (maybe featuring a women's lounge, and maybe even a spa! - who knows? just ideas, and these extra things cost money).
The community would be gated at the front, set well back by a green wedge from any roads. Traffic within the community would be a minimum, and residents' only cars beyond a front car park. 


How about my house, would it be a 'dog box' block'?


No, not at all! why should it be? We're aiming for Melbourne's outer fringe, close to established services, so this reduces the cost of expensive land inside Melbourne's urban growth boundary (UGB). This would allow for blocks of a medium size, so to enjoy privacy, while having the cohousing community at your front door.However, I would think that some townhouse size blocks would be included in the design to cater for all tastes.


That's all i can think of writing for now....


Next time a bit about buying in, expected costs, and, SOME encouragement start a group meeting and sharing ideas NOW!..Need some couples in a FLR, in Melbourne to get in on this and start supporting us, this can only become real with many!


Christian