Resource context (publisher, authors)
“The Role of Cooperatives in the Provision of Affordable Housing: an introductory overview” is a resource published by Espazium and written by Daniela Sanjinés (doctoral candidate at ETH Zurich) and Jennifer Duyne Barenstein (social anthropologist and senior researcher at ETH Zurich). It provides an introductory, comparative overview of housing cooperatives as a mechanism for delivering affordable housing and shaping sustainable urban development across Europe and other regions.
What housing cooperatives are (definition and principles)
The text defines housing cooperatives as housing that is mutually owned and democratically controlled by members who pool resources to lower individual costs related to housing provision. It references the International Cooperative Alliance (founded in 1895) and its seven cooperative principles: voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; members’ economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community.
Main cooperative models and how they differ
The overview distinguishes multiple cooperative objectives and models, including tenure, building and finance cooperatives. Tenure cooperatives emphasize collective ownership and management, building cooperatives focus on land development and housing construction, and finance cooperatives provide lending to members. Across contexts, cooperatives can take rental, limited-equity, or market-value forms, and operate in building types ranging from high-rises to single-family homes. The paper notes that cooperatives today primarily operate in urban settings and can influence neighbourhood and city development. 🇪🇺 European origins, scale, and country differences In Europe, the cooperative housing movement emerged in the mid-19th century, with early examples including cooperative dwellings built in Berlin (1849–1852) and the first housing cooperative in Rochdale, UK (1861). Cooperatives expanded from a response to poor housing conditions during industrialisation and urbanisation, and played an important role in post–World War I and post–World War II reconstruction. The text cites Co-operative Housing International in estimating that 27 million Europeans live in housing cooperatives.
Contemporary examples: Sweden and Switzerland
Sweden is described as the Western European country where cooperatives have a major current role, originating in 1923 and expanding after World War II with policy support; cooperatives represent about 22% of Sweden’s total housing stock. Switzerland is presented as a prominent case: cooperatives provide over 160,000 apartments and account for close to 60% of the country’s non-profit rental housing stock; in Zurich, cooperative housing represents over 20% of the total housing stock. The text reports that cooperative apartments in Zurich have average rents about 20% lower than private rental units, while also highlighting debates about targeting subsidies (including mention of “132 millionaires” living in subsidised cooperative housing).
Global perspectives and enabling conditions
Beyond Europe, the paper outlines diverse trajectories in the United States, India, Latin America (including Uruguay’s cooperative movement and the 1968 Housing Law), and African contexts such as Egypt (2,320 housing cooperative societies, about half a million dwelling units) and Kenya (supported by the National Cooperative Housing Union, NACHU). Across contexts, the overview emphasizes that housing cooperatives can contribute to affordable housing, social cohesion, and sustainable urban development, but require enabling policies and sustained support (for example tax exemptions, subsidised loans and grants, and access to affordable land). It frames the challenge in global terms, noting an estimated one billion people lacking adequate housing or living in slums.