Michigan Cooperative 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.
Michigan Socialist House was founded in 1932 by a group of students in the University of Michigan Socialist Club as an experiment in putting socialist values into practice and a way to defray the costs of living for students during the Great Depression. Throughout the 1930s, the members of Michigan House managed to provide themselves with full room and board for only two dollars a week, making headlines. [1] In 1939, the members of the house voted to change the name to Michigan Cooperative House, though many people still refer to it by its original name.
Today, Michigan Cooperative House continues to provide housing, food and community living for students and non-students in Ann Arbor.
Michigan Cooperative's functions are intertwined with its neighboring co-op house, Minnie's Cooperative. The two houses used to be technically two distinct co-ops, functioning as one unit, sharing meals and many aspects of their house cultures. They combined into a single cooperative under the name MichMinnies. [2]
Ann Arbor is a college town and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the fifth-most populous city in Michigan. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Washtenaw County and had 372,258 residents in 2020. Ann Arbor is also included in the Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor combined statistical area and the Great Lakes megalopolis.
Sebewa Township is a civil township of Ionia County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 1,171 and decreased to 1,124 at the 2020 census.
Shelby Charter Township, officially the Charter Township of Shelby, is a charter township located in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The township is an affluent northern suburb of Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,408, up from 73,804 in 2010. Shelby Charter Township is one of the fastest-growing communities in Metro Detroit.
The Huron River is a 130-mile-long (210 km) river in southeastern Michigan, rising out of the Huron Swamp in Springfield Township in northern Oakland County and flowing into Lake Erie, as it forms the boundary between present-day Wayne and Monroe counties. Thirteen parks, game areas, and recreation areas are associated with the river, which passes through the cities of Dexter, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Belleville, Flat Rock and Rockwood that were developed along its banks.
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 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 Stefan T. Vail Cooperative House is a housing cooperative for college students at the University of Michigan, Washtenaw Community College, and Eastern Michigan University located at 602 Lawrence Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A member of the Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) in Ann Arbor, Vail house is named after Stefan Valavanis, a former ICC President who became a notable economist. It is one of only two known adobe buildings in Ann Arbor.
Mary Markley Hall (Markley) is a residence hall operated by the University of Michigan University Housing in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 2006, it was restarted in 2017.
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.
Depot Town is a commercial area, with some residences above storefronts, in Ypsilanti, Michigan's historic district. Depot Town proper consists of East Cross Street from the Huron River to North River Street, and a small area on the 300-block of North River Street. However, several blocks in the surrounding area are also commonly referred to as part of Depot Town. These areas include Riverside Park, Frog Island Park, and River Street extending north and south for several blocks. First established in the late 1830s, most of the buildings standing today were constructed between 1850 and 1880. Over the years, Depot Town has included hotels, an Underground Railroad station, an American Civil War barracks, and a building that has housed a bar and restaurant continuously for more than 150 years, switching to soft drinks during Prohibition. Today the area is dominated by restaurants and stores. Depot Town also hosts several large summer festivals each year, as well as weekly bike nights and cruise nights.
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.
Origen Drew Richardson was an American lawyer and politician in the U.S. state of Michigan and in the Nebraska Territory. He served in the Michigan House of Representatives and was the fourth lieutenant governor of Michigan.
Warren Township is a former civil township of Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the township became the city of Warren.
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.
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.
Albert K. Stevens was a scholar, professor, and early supporter of the student cooperative housing movement in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the 1930s.
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.
The University of Michigan shapes Ann Arbor's economy significantly. It employs about 30,000 workers, including about 12,000 in the medical center. Other employers are drawn to the area by the university's research and development money, and by its graduates. High tech, health services and biotechnology are other major components of the city's economy; numerous medical offices, laboratories, and associated companies are located in the city. Automobile manufacturers, such as General Motors and Visteon, also employ residents.