A Political Economy Analysis of the Women's Community Cooperative in Hamilton, Ontario

Abstract

<p> This research paper studies the urban phenomena of cooperative housing in Canada. A political economy approach is used in this documentation of the delivery of the Women's Community Cooperative in Hamilton, Ontario. The focus of this paper is upon the individual members of the Innovative Housing Group, and how their collective actions enabled them to deliver this unique housing service. Individual members of the delivery group were studied to determine how political circumstances influenced their decision to create the Innovative Housing Group. They were also studied to determine what characteristics of their collective group enabled them to deliver the cooperative. Present day members of the cooperative were studied to determine how they view cooperative living and to see if involvement and participation was occurring within the cooperative organization. This study is relevant to urban geography as it shows how individuals may take control over their environment and with collective action overcome strong political, social, and economic forces to produce alternative housing types such as cooperatives.</p>