House Cooperation Built, The

Ford, Adam

232 pages; Rockingham Cooperative, 2020.

Details over 100 years of local agriculture and cooperative history. More broadly, it describes various cooperative housing projects where groups build, own, and manage homes together, reducing costs, fostering community, and providing affordable living, like projects in DC, Guelph, or even historic US government efforts. 

• Rockingham Cooperative (Book): A historical account of this Virginia cooperative, showing how community ownership supports local economies.
• Affordable Housing Co-ops: Groups like the Ella Jo Baker Cooperative in D.C. or The Cooperative at 1477 (built 1910) preserve affordability by having residents own the building, cutting costs and speculation.
• Guelph Campus Co-operative: An example of a university co-op built with sustainable features like rainwater harvesting and passive solar design.
• U.S. Housing Corporation (Historic): During WWI, the U.S. government built entire communities with modern infrastructure, a model of large-scale, thoughtful public housing.
• Self-Help Homes: Programs where families contribute sweat equity (building their own homes) alongside professional help to create affordable housin