A (More) Livable Community: Community, Cooperative Economics, and Resistance At A Student Housing Cooperative In College Park

Radical thinkers and activists have put forth “building community” as a political alternative, but what does “building community” actually entail? This thesis examines how a student cohousing group in College Park builds community in a rapidly changing college town. The group was founded to help house low-income tenants in the face of increasingly unaffordable housing. I ask how the group creates organizational structures and personal relationships that give rise to alternative housing opportunities. I examine how community shapes, and is shaped by, features of cohousing such as democratic decision-making and cooperative economics. I give particular attention to tensions that occur within the cooperative due to faults in democratic decision-making, the ability to perform cooperative duties, and the demographic makeup of the cooperative. Finally, I ask what transformative features, if any, the community possesses in the face of the city’s development.

Baits Housing under construction

Co-ed housing. Baits I and II occupied in 1966 and 1967. Stamp on verso: University of Michigan, News Service, 3528 Administration Bldg., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

Interior of student room (J.H. Port?)

On verso: J.H. Port; 626 S. Thayer St.; Ann Arbor, Michigan (Daybook, image #54)

University of Michigan student room

On verso: Group at Cromells; 517 Wash. St., Ann Arbor; Spring 1902 (Daybook, image #37)

Student in dorm room, 1980

On verso: Laoura Verklan (Daybook, image #10)

Student room of Grace Smith, Lit. 1903, in home of Junius Beal. Corner n.e. William & Fifth

On verso: Student Room of Grace Smith (Lit. '03) in home of Junius Beal, corner S. Fifth & William (later site for [Ann Arbor] Public Library

Internationalization Plan - How can UniPlaces improve its customer acquisition strategy in the London market?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics