2024
Michael LaFond, Giulia Carones, Alex Valder and others
The eBook titled "Cooperative Social-Ecological Housing," published in 2024 by id22: Institute for Creative Sustainability, delves into innovative housing solutions across German-speaking countries. It explores the intersection of social and ecological sustainability, showcasing how cooperative housing models can effectively tackle pressing issues like climate change, housing affordability, and social inequality. The book highlights twelve exemplary projects, primarily in Berlin, demonstrating various approaches to cooperative living. These projects range from the renovation of existing structures to new construction, all designed to provide affordable housing while emphasizing environmental sustainability. Features such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, and shared resources are integral to these developments, with communal areas designed to balance reduced individual living space. Additionally, the authors emphasize alternative ownership models, such as community land trusts and the Mietshäuser Syndikat, which aim to keep housing affordable and non-speculative. Participatory planning and self-governance are central themes, ensuring that residents play a significant role in decision-making processes. However, the book also addresses challenges, including financing hurdles and the need for sustained community engagement. Ultimately, the authors advocate for supportive policies and financing to enhance the impact of cooperative housing models. They argue that these community-led initiatives can be more responsive to social and environmental needs compared to traditional housing developers, positioning themselves as "activist-experts" eager to share insights and inspire similar projects globally.
This eBook titled "Cooperative Social-Ecological Housing" was published in 2024 by id22: Institute for Creative Sustainability in Berlin, Germany. It provides an in-depth look at cooperative and community-based housing projects in German-speaking countries, with a focus on combining social and ecological sustainability.
Key findings and context:
- The book examines how housing cooperatives can address multiple crises like climate change, housing affordability, and social inequality through innovative approaches to building and living.
- It showcases 12 model projects, mostly in Berlin but also in other German-speaking cities, that demonstrate different ways of implementing social-ecological cooperative housing. These range from renovations of old buildings to new construction projects.
- The projects highlighted aim to provide affordable housing while also incorporating environmental features like energy efficiency, renewable energy, shared resources, and reduced individual living space balanced by communal areas.
- Many projects use alternative ownership models like community land trusts or the Mietshäuser Syndikat to keep housing permanently affordable and non-speculative.
- Participatory planning and self-governance are common themes, with residents heavily involved in decision-making.
- Challenges noted include financing difficulties, balancing affordability with ecological features, and maintaining community engagement long-term.
- The book argues that cooperatives and community-led housing can be more innovative and responsive to social/environmental needs compared to conventional housing developers.
- It calls for more policy support and financing options to scale up these models.
- The eBook format allows for interactive features and links to additional resources.
The authors are a team from id22, including Michael LaFond, Giulia Carones, Alex Valder and others. They position themselves as "activist-experts" based in Berlin but looking to share lessons internationally. The book draws on their long experience working with and researching cooperative housing projects.
Overall, the book makes the case that cooperative, community-led housing models have significant potential to address housing, social, and environmental challenges in an integrated way, but require supportive policies and financing to scale up their impact. It aims to inspire and provide practical knowledge for others interested in developing similar projects.