In 2024, Cleveland Owns began delving into the realm of cooperative housing because we know decommodified housing is key to building the solidarity economy. We believe Clevelanders deserve the chance to get out of the rat race of spiraling unaffordability and instead live in at-cost housing they manage for themselves, on their own terms. Plus there is a rich history of co-op housing in Cleveland we wanted to bring forward to point the way.
Last fall, we hosted an 8 week study group on the principles, logistics, and practices behind building a housing co-op. This January, we hired our first cooperative housing organizer, Prerna (yay!) And today, we are publishing two documents Prerna created to develop the study group.
The first is an eight-session study group curriculum exploring the basics of what it takes to start and live in a successful housing co-op, including incubation, development, financing, and cooperative culture skillbuilding. It is an amazing compilation of the best co-op housing resources we know of. Access the curriculum here.
The second is Cooperative Housing in Cleveland: A Landscape Analysis, a report on cooperative housing projects across Ohio, with a focus on the origin story, legal structure, financing mechanisms, decision making and governance tactics, and resident costs and responsibilities of three Cleveland-based cooperatives. The landscape analysis tells inspiring stories of resistance and cooperation, of organizing and community care. It’s a reminder that cooperation in community is our natural state, and that co-op housing can play a critical role in fighting the isolation and hyper-individualism capitalism has socialized into us. You can access the landscape analysis here.
Prerna was inspired by the co-op housing incubator class they took with UHAB, the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. With support from UHAB’s, training materials, examples, and data on co-ops across Ohio, Prerna created these resources.
Like life, we envision these resources as ever-changing and adaptable. We encourage groups to adapt the study group curricula as they see fit and according to group needs. We hope to expand the landscape analysis to encompass more co-op housing projects across the state, continuing to illustrate the immense variety that exists under the co-op housing umbrella.
Visit the Co-op Housing page on our website to learn more about this program and how we support working-class Cleveland to decommodify their housing and fire their landlord.