LiM Living in Metropolises SCE is a European housing cooperative established on May 11, 2018, and headquartered in Berlin. It stands as the first cooperative of its kind to be registered under the Societas Cooperativa Europaea (SCE) legal framework, enabling it to operate and initiate projects across national borders within Europe. The cooperative was founded in response to the growing housing challenges in metropolitan areas, with a focus on affordable, sustainable, and collectively managed housing.
LiM’s membership, as of 2021, included 98 members encompassing private individuals, companies, architectural offices, and non-governmental organizations from seven countries, such as Germany, Austria, Finland, Latvia, and the Netherlands. The organisation works closely with established partners, including the Berliner Bau- und Wohnungsgenossenschaft von 1892 and the European Federation for Living.
The cooperative’s scope centers on developing residential projects that address both social and environmental needs without pursuing profit maximization. Its projects are intended to serve as transferable models for future housing initiatives. Current activities include a completed housing development in southeast Berlin’s Treptow-Köpenick district, where 40 apartments and communal spaces were realized. Additional projects are underway in Jelgava, Latvia (around 135 dwellings in planning), and Helsinki, Finland, aiming for roughly 70 units focused on community living. LiM also facilitates competitions, such as the Affordable Housing Design competition in Helsinki, and promotes professional exchange across Europe to refine cooperative housing models.
LiM’s integrative and transnational approach positions it as a reference point for innovative, community-based urban housing in Europe.