Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to investigate the role of different international models of cooperative housing for social sustainability in the urban context. Although the focus is on the micro-scale of communities and neighbourhoods, the suggested analytical framework takes into account the multi-scalar and multi-level nature of social sustainability by introducing a vertical form of social capital. Although the phenomenon of cooperative housing has a long history, there is a recent wave of collective self-organised housing in many European countries, which emphasises aspects relevant to current challenges in urban development. These are discussed under the umbrella concept of sustainability, such as social inclusion and cohesion, environmental awareness, and affordability. Although there is no single unifying label that describes this emerging housing field, the chapter adopts “collaborative housing” as an umbrella term that encompasses this wide variety of housing forms (Fromm, 2012; Vestbro, 2010). Its organisational models clearly exhibit cooperative principles (such as collective member ownership and democratic control) but nevertheless differ in important aspects from traditional and mainstream cooperative housing. They draw on new governance models and legal forms, and have sprung out of different social movements. © selection and editorial matter, M. Reza Shirazi and Ramin Keivani.