Housing Cooperative Case Studies
Studies Show Impact of Cooperative
Housing on Neighborhoods
A paper presented at the Urban Affairs Association
Conference last year indicated that limited equity cooperatives
in urban neighborhoods maintain the affordability of housing
for lower-income residents, reduce displacement of working
families, and contribute to diversity. The paper by Susan
Saegert and Melissa Extein looked at the rapidly gentrifying
Clinton neighborhood of New York City. A year earlier, Sagert
and two others, Gary Winkel and Charles Swartz, published
an article in Housing Policy Debate showing that cooperative
homeownership can reduce crime in neighborhoods. That article
also focused on New York City.
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There are approximately 4,600 housing co-ops,
with 1.2 million units and approximately 3 million residents. In
their communities, housing co-ops donate meeting space, sponsor
recycling and youth programs, and work to keep senior citizens in
their homes. Here is a sampling of their commitment to community.
Caring for the Community
NORC Supportive Services Center,
New York, New York. After housing co-ops in New York undertook programs
to serve senior residents in inter-generational communities, the
Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities Supportive Services Center
was developed to replicate the program around the country.
These programs now help more than 50,000 seniors
remain in their homes among family and friends. The NORC Supportive
Services Center is now using a grant from the Department of Housing
and Urban Development to develop NORC programs around the country.
Greenbelt Homes, Inc., Greenbelt,
Maryland. With help from the NORC Supportive Services Center, the
co-op launched a program serving Greenbelt seniors. The program
offers services to allow seniors in the co-op and elsewhere in the
city to continue living independently.
Amalgamated Housing Cooperative,
Bronx, New York. Education and community involvement are priorities
for the co-op. It sponsors a parent-run cooperative nursery school,
a day camp, a fitness club, and an international committee to foster
good will among the community’s diverse cultures. An annual
festival brings together neighborhood residents for a day of multi-cultural
education. The co-op also sponsors a NORC program providing information
on public benefits, entitlement programs, and social services for
seniors. The NORC program was one of the models for the NORC Supportive
Services Program.
Atlanta Cooperative Development Corporation,
Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta housing co-ops supported the development
of the Atlanta Cooperative Development Corporation, which is using
$1 million from the Department of Health and Human Services to set
up individual development accounts for low-income residents. Participant
saves $50 a month from earnings received from working in a food
or landscaping cooperative. The savings are matched four-to-one
with grant funding. The IDAs can be used for a down payment on a
home, college enrollment, or to capitalize interest in a cooperative
business.
Stone Soup Cooperative, Chicago,
Illinois. The co-op offers meeting, event and conference space to
many local and national nonprofits, including Amnesty International
and the Chicago Mutual Housing Network, a support organization for
housing co-ops throughout the city.
Caring for the Environment
1st Rochdale’s Green Apple Initiative,
New York, New York. 1st Rochdale Cooperative, an energy cooperative
founded by New York City housing co-ops, offers a renewable power
product for consumers. The electricity comes from a blend of three
renewable sources: wind power, bioenergy, and small hydro-electric
generators. Consumers pay a premium to support electricity coming
from these sources. The Environmental Resources Trust certifies
that the product meets environmental standards.
University Students Cooperative Association,
Berkeley, California. This cooperative of student housing co-ops
has an ambitious recycling policy, including education about waste
consciousness, recycling, and conservation. Each of the 20 co-op
houses must appoint a resident waste reduction manager who implements
recycling policies and educates other residents.
Committed to Children
Walton Park Manor Cooperative,
Pontiac, Michigan . The co-op partnered with United Way and Michigan
State Cooperative Extension to support the Pontiac Neighborhood
Youth Initiative, which provides community center services. The
Extension office trains co-op members to go door-to-door recruiting
youths and conducting surveys to determine the services needed.
A youth center at the co-op is used by Big Brothers & Big Sisters,
the Boy and Girl Scouts, and others.
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