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Cohousing in AustraliaGilo Holtzman, Partner, Synthesis Studio

In terms of scale, cohousing neighbourhoods are typically designed for 12 to 35 owner-occupied or rental residential units, with units often being smaller in size and clustered together to allow for more shared open space.

The self-managed nature of cohousing communities provides residents with opportunities to develop new life skills

and Holland where it became an established model for social housing and housing for older persons. Today seniors cohousing is becoming the preferred alternative to nursing homes and retirement villages in the US, and as at 2010 it was estimated that there were 250 established or forming cohousing communities there.

There are currently three cohousing communities in Australia (as well as numerous communities in the process of formation). Cascade Cohousing was established in Hobart in 1993 with private financing, and it is solely owner-occupied.

Cohousing Cooperative was completed in 2000, and it is also located in Hobart. It was a partly government-funded community housing development, and it was jointly established by Cohousing Cooperative and the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services. Cohousing Cooperative is comprised of 13 households on low to moderate incomes. Under the terms of the community housing program, 80% of the residents must be eligible for public housing.

And Pinakarri Community is a cohousing cooperative in suburban Fremantle, which was established in 1991. Pinakarri was developed in collaboration with Western Australia’s public housing authority, Homeswest, and was the first community in Australia to integrate public rental housing and homeownership within a

Cohousing communities are neighbourhoods which feature common facilities, sustainable living practices and good connections with neighbour-residents, with residents actively participating in the design, planning and operation of their own neighbourhoods. That is, cohousing is a form of intentional community.

Benefits of cohousing The cohousing model involves participation by residents within a non-hierarchical management structure, fostering shared decision-making, creating and maintaining a caring community, fostering the development of meaningful relationships between neighbours, and ensuring that residents feel a sense of belonging. As a result, cohousing communities tend to encourage a sense of physical safety, where neighbourly networks keep an eye out for one another. For households that include children, the communities offer youth role models and supervision from a broader range of adults than simply parents.

The physical layout of the neighbourhood buildings encourage this: the design is pedestrian-oriented, aiming to encourage opportunities for casual meetings between neighbours; there are large common houses/facilities which provide space for both planned and spontaneous get-togethers such as celebrations, hobby clubs, movie-watching and shared meals.

Cohousing provides innovative solutions to many of today’s environmental and social challenges.

in areas such as conflict resolution, meeting facilitation, communication and management — all of which are essential not only for running and maintaining the community but also useful for many other aspects of daily life.

A critical ingredient of a cohousing community is that residents share a commitment to sustainable practices, and their collaboration enhances their ability to live sustainably.

Location of cohousing communitiesThe concept of cohousing is not new. Cohousing first took roots in Denmark in the mid-1960s, expanding almost simultaneously but independently in Sweden

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housing cooperative. Overcoming initial concern and rejection by the broader surrounding community unfamiliar with the cohousing model, Pinakarri became a trigger for community renewal and transformation, with the shared facilities being utilised by the wider community for meetings, dinners, film nights, and other events.

Our community is a special place for everyone living here. A desire is needed to live in such a community, for this is not for everyone. Belonging to a group that is committed to ‘hanging in there’ and ‘working through conflict’ is essential. People come first. Everyone in the community has benefited one way or another, though it is the children that benefit the most. They are in a setting of a ‘Nuevo tribal situation’ where the whole community keeps watch of each other’s children. (Pinakarri Com-munity)

Despite the success of these three cohousing communities, cohousing has yet to emerge as a significant housing option in Australia. Cohousing is however slowly gaining more interest here, and there are numerous cohousing communities across the country which are in the process of formation. Cohousing Australia Inc. provides support for established and forming communities, and works to advance the cohousing model throughout Australia.

One development that is in its final stages of development is the Ecohousing Cooperative in Heidelberg, Melbourne. Ecohousing Cooperative is being developed using funding from Common Equity Housing Victoria and the Commonwealth

Government’s economic stimulus package. Ecohousing Cooperative will incorporate 18 (self-contained) affordable housing dwellings on the site, plus shared facilities such as a common garden, a laundry, a workshop and recreation rooms (for sharing meals and other activities), and shared open space. Construction includes an emphasis on environmentally sustainable design principles, and the cooperative will operate on the basis of cohousing principles. After completion, ownership of the units in the development are to be retained by Common Equity Housing, and they will

be managed and leased by Earth Common Equity Rental Cooperative.

Households on low-incomes in cohousing communitiesAlthough developing a cohousing community does not necessarily involve the inclusion of affordable housing, some cohousing communities include housing for residents from a range of income levels. For example, some cohousing communities have incorporated affordable in-law studios and rental units to utilize public and private sources of financing to provide affordable

Site plan of Pinakarri, Hamilton Hill, showing public rental houses (1—4); privately owned houses (5—8), common house (9), shared open space and permaculture food gardens (10), carports (11). Source: Hammond and Green Architects.

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cohousing units, such as the Ecohousing Cooperative.

Adopting the cohousing model into the management of affordable housing schemes does, however, have enormous potential, because many strategies for lowering living costs are innate in cohousing developments and communities due to their commitment to sustainable practices — for example:

designing smaller units

increasing energy efficiency

designing homes to utilise solar energy

clustering dwellings in order to allow for shared space (and so using less land for individual allotments)

sharing resources such as meeting facilities

engaging in bartering services (such as trading items, and fruits and vegetables).

These are all measures for saving money which directly improve the ability for low-income residents

to participate in cohousing communities and their ability to achieve their financial goals. A culture of reusing unwanted or old items is totally accepted in mixed-income cohousing community; there is no stigma faced by low-income residents engaging in these types of exchanges. It is a supportive community which encourages environmentally-conscious spending practices.

Beyond practices which encourage responsible spending, cohousing communities have many other benefits to low-income residents. Mutual support is the primary advantage and it is a hallmark of cohousing. In times of challenges such as ill health or job losses, those who are financially better off may be better able to cope and manage — but the proximate and supportive relationships in cohousing developments can provide the extra support needed to assist residents such as low-income single parents to weather a crisis.

There are economic, social and cultural reasons why cohousing has been slow to establish in Australia. These include the focus on homeownership, (individual) prosperity, privacy and (self-contained) family life. There is also the housing affordability crisis — for example, in Sydney and Melbourne, those who are interested in cohousing tend to live in the inner suburbs, where land is more expensive and less land is available. And then there is the limited government support for funding cohousing developments. This is in contrast to governments in Denmark, Holland, Sweden and even the US, where governments have

seen the capacity of cohousing communities to deliver impressive social and environmental benefits.

Barriers aside, the cohousing model deserves to attract more attention in Australia. Cohousing provides innovative solutions to many of today’s environmental and social challenges. It has a capacity to improve quality of life for households on low-incomes and other disadvantaged groups such as older persons. And importantly, cohousing incorporates what we call the ‘social essence’ into residents’ homes and lives.

ReferencesCohousing Australia: www.

communities.org.au/homeCohousing Association of the United

States: www.cohousing.org.Louise Crabtree, ‘Sustainability begins

at home? An ecological exploration of sub/urban Australian community-focused housing initiatives’, Geoforum, vol. 37, Department of Human Geography, Macquarie University, March 2006, pp. 519—535.

C. Durrett & K. McCamant, ‘Cohousing: a contemporary approach to housing ourselves’, Ten Speed Press; 2nd edition, 1994.

Jerome Garciano & L. Law, ‘Affordable cohousing: challenges and opportunities for supportive resident networks and initiatives in mixed and low-income housing’, Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development, American Bar Association Publishing, January 2011.

Matthieu Lietaert, ‘Cohousing’s relevance to degrowth theories’, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 18, no. 6, 2010, pp. 576—580.

Graham Meltzer, ‘Sustainable community learning from the cohousing model’, Trafford Press, Canada, 2005.

The gardens at Pinakarri.