Charnwood's estate design was based on the Radburn principle. Under this design, houses were to face common parkland, with the suburb's streets servicing garages situated at the rear of the houses. The design failed in its application, however, as home owners built fences around the "park side" of their blocks, effectively screening the houses away from the common parkland. This created long, narrow, fenced walkways, with poor lighting and no neighbourhood surveillance. The original design for the network of pathways was to make make it is possible to walk from any point in the suburb to any other without directly crossing a road; pedestrian bridges can be used to cross the few major streets within the suburb.

Charnwood is the location of the Charnwood centre shopping area which serves surrounding suburbs. The shopping centre includes several fast food outlets, a branch of the Labor Club, a Shell Service Station and a Woolworths. An emergency services station incorporating ambulance and fire and rescue services was opened was opened in October 2013 by the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and is located near the Charnwood shops at the south west corner of Lhotsky Street and Tillyard Drive abutting Ginninderra Dr.

Charnwood is home to Charnwood-Dunlop Primary School, Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and Charnwood High School (now closed and housing the Canberra Christian Life Centre).

According to the Act Planning and Land Authority website, the suburb is named after: "[a] former homestead in the Belconnen District; Henry Hall obtained a grant of 3,492 acres (14.13 km²) of land which he named 'Charnwood', 1833; named after the Forest of Charnwood in England."

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Wikipedia