Urban Coup

Mission: The Urban Coup will be a resilient, positive and diverse community that contributes to a healthier world, and one that enriches its residents' lives.

From www.ic.org/directory/urban-coup/:

Urban Coup (the 'Coup') is an initiative of a group of Melbournians who share a vision of creating not just housing, but community...but more than this, home is where our community is, our family, friends – the networks that support and nourish us.

We are a cohesive community that is welcoming, supportive and inclusive of all individuals. We currently have two cohousing projects in development, driven by slightly different needs and the extensive shared knowledge of our memebership.

Urban Coup also presents a range of opportunities for engaging and sharing with diverse local communities via supportive activities. This may lead to partnership, social enterprise or simply manifest kinship within our local hood via volunteer activities. Examples include: a food cooperative; local garden and food exchange; skill exchange workshops; upcycling activities and support for diverse local causes. We actively encourage the development of cohousing communities in Australia.

We have more than 35 members so far, but are always looking for more, as these members are divided between the two current projects. We also hope to be able to incorporate some social housing into the mix of accommodation, however this will depend on opportunities.

'Near and Tall'

Near and Tall is a high-density apartment development close to the CBD. This project is at an advanced stage of planning, with a partner architect and developer engaged, and is actively seeking participants as either owner/occupiers or investors. Members Contract Pack will be available for signature in late November, and a Terms Sheet will be available for investors five weeks later. Projected move-in date in December 2019.

'Far and Wide'

Far and wide is a lower-density garden-st development in the middle to outer suburbs. The project is in an earlier stage and is seeking participants to further develop the plan.

Real names for each project will be decided by the community based on the site, when it is secured. Urban Coup is a group of committed people preparing to purchase land and develop an environmentally sustainable urban cohousing community. We are a cohesive community that is welcoming, supportive and inclusive of all individuals. Both projects hope to purchase land and begin to build in 2017.

Urban Coup was formed in May 2008, when a group of like-minded folk gathered to discuss their dreams of what living in such a community would be like. We found we had a lot in common and thus decided to work together to build first our group, and then the dream: a new co-housing community. We are now comprised of a healthy mx of couples, families and singles.

The group is made up of people from many different backgrounds, with health professionals, graphic artists, architects, designers, urban designers, environmentalists, engineers - who are now becoming friends. Currently, we meet fortnightly and often socialise before or after the meeting. We also go away together a couple of times a year to enjoy being in community whilst we build our dream.

In this time, Urban Coup has developed an extensive invetory of healthy group processes and proactive ways of dealing with conflict should it arise. We operate under a consensus decision-making model and our conflict-resolution processes are based on the non-violent communications (NVC) approach. Members are offered training in both these group processes.

And the name? No, ‘coup’ is not a spelling mistake. The Urban Coup is our way of living differently to help ourselves to help the planet. Choosing to build a cohousing development is our answer to an age when global resources are being strained by modern living, urban sprawl is ever-expanding, and many of us in the city find ourselves isolated from real community in our current homes.

A service of the Data Commons Co-op. The project has been supported by Equal Exchange, the Cooperative Charitable Trust, the USDA, and many others - thank you! Tech volunteers over the years include: Benjamin Bradley with support from GAIA Host. Ben Mauer with support from Quilted. Paul Fitzpatrick. Ronin Tech Collective, Brattleboro Tech Collective, Sligo Computer Services. Jason Lemieux. Default map tiles courtesy of MapQuest. Default map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA.