Kai Shinbrough
PhD Student
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
In undergrad, I was fortunate to live in several housing cooperatives, all run by the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA), a subsidiary co-op of the North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO). In brief, housing cooperatives operate on the principles of shared and distributed property ownership, governance, and labor; members of the housing cooperative don't have a landlord—we collectively own and maintain the houses we live in—and we share the responsibilities of home-ownership equally. Most co-ops have a labor system to ensure the house stays clean and well sought-after, as well as a food system wherein every member of the co-op cooks once a week (or thereabouts) and enjoys a home-cooked meal every day. Most co-ops are also invested in social justice and social activism, and qualify as low-income housing. It's a nice way to live, make friends, reduce your carbon-footprint, reduce rent, learn new skills, garden, connect with the community, and hone your people-skills.
In graduate school, I live in the Community of Urbana-Champaign Cooperative Housing (COUCH).
Kai Shinbrough