Uruguay offers a cooperative answer to the global housing shortage

Housing affordability is a crisis that many countries face. New Zealand addressed the issue in a controversial way: by outright banning foreign ownership. Since it has come into effect, real estate pricing has gone down, and more properties are available for New Zealand residents. Critics argue that the ban coincided with world events like the Chinese government limiting how much money could leave the country into foreign events. They caution against attributing the lower prices to the ban itself and that it is still too early to see its true impact.

There is an escalating housing affordability crisis in America, where even the middle and creative classes are having difficulty finding somewhere they can afford to live. A possible solution could be cooperative housing as explained through several examples around the world where this method has been used.

Hawai‘i lawmakers are considering SB 332, a "community opportunity to purchase" policy that would give tenants, community land trusts, housing nonprofits and local governments up to 45 days to match or beat bids on foreclosed homes. This legislation is aimed at preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement and is modeled after similar successful policies in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

Residents of mobile home communities are coming together to collectively buy the land their houses are on and establish cooperatives. It ensures their rent stays affordable long term, and some state governments are making it easier to do so to help address housing affordability crises.

California’s East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative is run by residents of local historically redlined communities and supported by investors who receive moderate returns to keep rent prices affordable. The cooperative was formed to give those involved a say in decisions they were typically left out of and allows them to serve existing residents and businesses instead of trying to attract new ones.

Surreal Estates, a tiny housing community in a city block, gives creatives a place to own homes and studios near like-minded people.

After the 2008 economic recession hit, Carla Walker-Miller shifted her energy services business model to not only supply electrical equipment but also implement energy efficiency programs for communities of color in Detroit. She has been able to service 75 households, which has resulted in energy bill savings up to $600 a year for families. The company also has a robust recruitment and training program for young people and those experiencing economic hardship.

Wales’ One Planet Development Policy allows people to live a more sustainable lifestyle by using only the resources on the land where they reside. For one family, they get their electricity from their own solar array, heat from firewood, and food from their gardens and livestock. Each year, they must prove that they are using only their “global fair share” of resources. So far, 46 farms have signed on to the program and the lessons learned from the experiment are helping to inform the government’s actions on other policies like housing.

A "right-to-purchase" policy has enabled nonprofits to purchase residential buildings in gentrified neighborhoods in order to prevent the displacement of those relying on rent-controlled housing. Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) is a Bay Area nonprofit leading the cause to counter gentrification and prevent developers from purchasing residential buildings that house low and moderate-income households. MEDA has purchased and managed 32 buildings and is one of fewer than 10 nonprofits in the area that exercise the "right-to-purchase" policy.

Minneapolis serves as a model for other cities as it addresses the affordable housing crisis by de-incentivizing the development of single-family houses. By changing zoning laws to benefit the construction of duplexes and triplexes, the city makes room for more low-income families to afford to live in city limits.