Reports are that many small to medium sized banks and at least one very big bank or investment bank is poised to fall and the credit crisis will worsen over the next two years. Comments like this from people like this shouldn't be taken lightly.

“We’re not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months ...
“We’re going to see a whopper ... one of the big investment banks or big banks.”
— Kenneth S. Rogoff
Former IMF Chief Economist
and Fed Governor

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not going to exist in their present form in a few years.”

What this means is that investment capital is drying up, the fractional banking system as we know it is unwinding, and favorable mortgages could be a thing of the past soon. Some banks have already cancelled all home equity lines of credit given to their customers. For anyone that is thinking of creating a community lifeboat but has had the idea on the back burner, it's time to think about making this a priority in your life. Unless you can pay cash for this transition, you'll need the credit to make the move, and not at 20% interest with 40% down and a 5 year term (like pre WWII mortgages). Let's talk!

I also think that it is a good idea to purchase land early in the process. Unless you are lucky enough to score a nice old homestead or small family farmland, good agriculture, permaculture, fruit falling from trees, will take several years to develop. If you have time, some of the best land for homesteading is the land that nobody else wants. Topography, wetlands, dense growth, can all be benefits if you've got time to evaluate and work with the land.

The major concern, for me, in buying land early, is that you need to have some idea of the size and type of community that you are looking to establish. Personally, I am looking for something larger than four households, but don't want to have to deal with the complexity of infrastructure building, site planning, and the like that Manitou Arbor among others have had to deal with. I want to have a property in place with a long term plan in mind, but that I could go put up a yurt upon and get started as soon as the situation and mood hits me. I've followed far too many projects that were or still are in the planning phases for 10 or more years. I'd like to have a project with a long range plan of 30 or 40 households, but that can develop naturally, starting from only a half dozen or so. An objective for me is to create a model of naturally occurring development and community growth that can easily be reproduced elsewhere. Having recently read the Michigan Land Division Act, I believe that this can be done without the complexity of filing and getting approval for a 'planned development' from any local municipality. The right tract(s) of land should be dividable into 15 or 20 or more individual parcels with no need for any approval process. One or more parcels could be left significantly large enough for the future possibility of a cohousing type condo project or other planned, higher density development.

How much land is the next question. General figures that I've come across indicate that a homestead needs around 4 to 5 acres of property. With ideal property, you could probably do it on less. Community homesteading may add some efficiency of land use. By other information and rough calculation, I believe that 1 to 2 acres of land per person to live off of is sustainable as long as the world population does not continue to double every few years. Based on this and objectives stated above, I am interested in a minimum of 50 acres and up to 200 acres. An ideal situation might be to purchase two adjoining pieces of land that have not been recently subdivided in the range of 50 to 80 acres each.

The final concern for me is where? Personally, I am interested in anywhere that conditions and price are good. This move will hopefully coincide with dropping out of the industrial work force for me and my family. Thus, we hope not to be tied to this or any major population center. Land price and, more important, taxes are a major factor in my ability to live debt free on minimal cash income. Cheap land in SE Michigan is $10K per acre. Through more rural areas of Michigan, some good land is going for $3K or less. I lean toward the later, especially since building prices, cost of living, property taxes, etc. tend also to be cheaper in these areas. The local political climate, laws, and building department should also be considered in choice of land.

Greetings! I'd like to start this forum for the purposes of developing a "core group" of individuals or families willing to commit to meet weekly or bi-weekly for a few hours. The purpose of these meetings will be to discuss the feasibility and process for developing a sustainable community project. I have an MS in urban planning and have worked with cohousing groups in Michigan to learn more about the planning and building process. Peak oil is pushing me to finally act on my desire to live in a cooperative sustainable community, cohousing, eco-village or some variation.
I've been conceptualizing this type of project for years but have purposefully avoided most details as those are group decisions. I believe in a consensus decision-making model and the ultimate project develops through that. Thoughts for a basic model might include the following: location in close proximity to a town or market center with a job/customer base and rail service; adequate land for gardening (personal or market); sustainable water supply; incorporation of "zero energy" home design features and technologies; locally sourced materials and labor; aspects of permaculture, organic, biodynamic, spiritual aesthetics, etc.; cooperative model for chores / maintenance; common ownership of some tools, infrastructure; a common house or community-owned building typically used for voluntary community meals, meetings, recreation... If you are unfamiliar with these alternative communities, one thing to remember is this is NOT a commune! You have your own private home and nobody can just walk in to borrow your belongings! Think of it as a cooperative condo community for a basic structure. I have attached a PowerPoint presentation on Cohousing to give people a basic introduction to the concept and it's advantages (see below).

This should be a deliberate, thoughtful process for all but it can take at least two years from beginning meetings to move-in date, and if you believe some of what you read and see, we may not have a functioning mortgage industry by then. So, while we must aproach this methodically, carefully, professionally, we do not have time to doddle. Luckily for us, this is the time to buy or build as there's a lot of unemployed builders out there offering deals.

Thoughts- living close to work will become critical, so we need to consider that in any land location choices.
10-15 households is an ideal range for a project like this and we should have the land and resources to accomodate hobby gardeners and people wanting to earn a second income and provide food security for themselves. I'm a slow food "foodie" and my wife's a chef, so sharing a community and garden space with other food enthusiasts would make for some great experiences!
OK, I'll leave this here for now, and hope for feedback. Think about your level of interest and a time/day that you could commit a 2-3 hour block each week or two. Thanks, I'm excited about this opportunity to live my values!