Housing in the United States is viewed as a financial asset rather than a foundation for a stable life, leaving many residents cost-burdened, displaced, and disconnected from their communities. This project explores an alternative: co-operative housing as a way to build stability together. My work is grounded in ongoing participation at the Los Angeles Eco-Village – a community land trust and a limited equity housing co-operative – where I have gotten to know residents and support their community with my skills and personal engagement to envision future design interventions for the Eco-Village’s outdoor spaces in a participatory manner. Through this experience, I have observed the importance of shared labor, collective decision-making, and resource-sharing, concluding that these are not just social values – they are the systems that keep housing affordable, resilient, and rooted in place. My project translates these lessons into The Co-operative Housing Starter Kit, a set of tools that support shared ownership, collective care, and co-operative practice. By doing so, I claim that rather than inventing a new housing framework from scratch, Los Angeles should recognize, support, and scale the existing, already working model of co-operative housing.
