Community of Urbana-Champaign Cooperative Housing, or COUCH, is an association of student housing cooperatives in Urbana and Champaign, Illinois. It is a member of North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO).
COUCH began in 1997 as an umbrella organization for the independent housing co-ops in the Champaign–Urbana area, but was also founded with the vision of creating a larger co-op community to advance co-oping, establish community, and achieve economies of scale within the co-op community. It currently consists of four houses:
These housing co ops provide affordable housing to students and young people. Each room is rented out separately, and each room is priced according to its size. On top of rent, each tenant pays a separate bill for utilities and food. Although rules change from house to house, it is customary that every night, one or two people cook for the house and in return, they are cooked for the other 6 nights of the week. Some houses are vegan or vegetarian, while other houses serve meat. Many commodities are included for free including free access to a washer and dryer and free printing. Many houses allow pets. [1]
A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Typically housing cooperatives are owned by shareholders but in some cases they can be owned by a non-profit organization. They are a distinctive form of home ownership that have many characteristics that differ from other residential arrangements such as single family home ownership, condominiums and renting.
The North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network. NASCO provides its member cooperatives with operational assistance, encourages the development of new cooperatives, and serves as an advocate for cooperatives to government, universities, and communities. NASCO teaches leadership skills, provides information, and serves as a central link in facilitating the fruition of the cooperative vision for students and youth.
The Cloyne Court Hotel, often referred to simply as Cloyne, is a historical landmark in Berkeley, California and currently one of the houses of the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC), a student housing cooperative. It is located at the north side of the University of California, Berkeley campus at 2600 Ridge Road, near Soda Hall and Jacobs Hall, and is the next door neighbor of the Goldman School of Public Policy.
The Santa Barbara Student Housing Coop (SBSHC) is a student housing cooperative designed to provide affordable housing for students attending post-secondary institutions in Santa Barbara County. It is a member of NASCO. The first coop was established in 1976, and consists of five houses; Newman, Manley, Dolores, Biko and Merton. In all, just under 100 students live in these houses.
The Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan (ICC) is a student owned and operated housing cooperative serving students and community members in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The ICC is an active member of NASCO.
The Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) is a student housing cooperative serving primarily UC Berkeley students, but open to any full-time post-secondary student. The BSC houses and/or feeds over 1,300 students in 17 houses and three apartment buildings. Food is provided to residents of the 17 houses, which also offer boarding meal plans to non-residents. As part of their rental agreement, residents of the houses are required to perform workshifts, typically five hours per week. The BSC is led by a board of directors which is primarily composed of and elected by student members.
Madison Community Cooperative, or MCC, is a housing cooperative composed of 11 houses in Madison, Wisconsin with around 200 resident members.
Davis Campus Co-ops (DCC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide low-cost cooperative housing for students attending University of California, Davis. Today, DCC owns one student housing cooperative called Pacifico Student Cooperative Housing, located in South Davis. In 2006, DCC partnered with the North American Students of Cooperation and the City of Davis to provide stronger cooperative education and management support. Governance of DCC is now coterminous with the NASCO Properties Board of Directors.
Michigan Coöperative House was founded in 1932 as Michigan Socialist House. It was located at 335 E. Ann Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan campus, and now is located at 315 N. State Street. It is one of the co-op houses making up the Inter-Cooperative Council. In 2016 Michigan Cooperative House and the neighboring Minnies Cooperative House voted to combine the two coops and become one functioning, democratically run cooperative.
A student housing cooperative, also known as co-operative housing, is a housing cooperative for student members. Members live in alternative cooperative housing that they personally own and maintain. These houses are designed to lower housing costs while providing an educational and community environment for students to live and grow in. They are, in general, nonprofit, communal, and self-governing, with students pooling their monetary and personal resources to create a community style home. Many student housing cooperatives share operation and governing of the house. As with most cooperatives, student housing coops follow the Rochdale Principles and promote collaboration and community work done by the members for mutual benefit.
The Two Dickinson Street Co-op, or 2D, is one of the five student dining co-ops at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. 2D is a 50-member vegetarian cooperative located across the street from the Princeton University campus.
Spartan Housing Cooperative (SHC) is a nonprofit member owned and operated housing cooperative. The SHC was formed as in 1969, as a federation of existing student housing cooperatives in East Lansing. Since the first of the SHC's member houses formed 69 years ago, SHC has accumulated more than 4,000 members.
The 21st Street Co-op is a student housing cooperative in Austin, Texas housing 100 residents. It is part of the College Houses co-op system.
Escher Cooperative House, named after artist M. C. Escher, is one of the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan's (ICC) 16 student housing cooperatives. It is located at 1500 to 1520 Gilbert Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The only North Campus-located cooperative, it is the ICC's largest community with over 150 spaces of residents and 9 separately themed "suites." It is also the only building in Ann Arbor built specifically for cooperative housing.
A bicycle cooperative can take the many forms of the cooperative model. These often include co-ops composed of businesses to achieve economies of scale, co-ops managed by those who work at the business, and bicycle co-ops owned and managed by the cyclists that use their services. To date, many bicycle co-ops have taken the form of community bike shops and cooperatives organized to give the local bike shop national scale and buying power.
The University of Texas Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) is a student owned and operated housing cooperative serving students and community members in Austin, Texas. ICC Austin is an active member of NASCO.
The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) is a non-profit corporation founded in 1962 that feeds and houses Oberlin College students. Located in the town of Oberlin, Ohio, it is independent from but closely tied to Oberlin College. OSCA is one of the largest student housing cooperatives in North America, though membership has declined in recent years.
Keep Cottage, also known as Keep Cooperative is an 1839 post-Victorian tudor revival mansion owned and maintained by Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Originally home to the Reverend John Keep, the house underwent a serious renovation in 1911 in order to transform it into a college dormitory. In 1965, it is a rental property of Oberlin Student Cooperative Association, the second largest student cooperative in the United States. It is named after its primary trustee, the reverend John Keep, an abolitionist who cast the deciding vote that let African-American students attend Oberlin College, the first institution to do so.
The Eugene V. Debs Cooperative House is a student housing cooperative founded in 1967, one of the 18 cooperative houses which make up the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan. Debs Cooperative is located at 909 East University Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is named for Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs. Debs has a reputation for being politically active, socially conscious, and environmentally focused. House funds go towards maintenance and the purchase of organic food, and members of the house cook vegetarian and vegan meals five nights a week.
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