As with many countries, the United States has experienced swings of public and private operation of its water services for more than 150 years. Most water services in the country began as private enterprises in the 1800s but were municipalized from the late 19th century into the 1930s.
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Resident-owned communities (ROCs)—manufactured housing neighborhoods in which the land is community-owned and managed–are one of the leading sources of affordable housing in the U.S. This video explains their benefits.
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A limited equity housing cooperative is a residential development owned and managed by a democratically governed, nonprofit cooperative corporation, such as a tenants’ union. This video show how they help keep housing affordable over the long term.
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CLTs are nonprofit organizations that acquire and steward land in a “trust” for the permanent benefit of low-income communities. This video explains what they can achieve.
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In this video, Next System Project Co-chair Gar Alperovitz sketches the major institutions of a systemic alternative based in plural forms of democratic ownership, orientated around community at various scales—what he calls “The Pluralist Commonwealth.”
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To preserve communities in the throes of displacement, cooperative movements and new economy advocates must pivot in a new direction that blends place and the democratic economy. This “new direction” actually borrows from an idea nearly 50 years old.
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As the nation’s housing crisis deepens during the COVID-19 pandemic, we urgently need new approaches and institutions that center permanent affordability, community ownership and control, and the long-term goal of decommodification.
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