Community Finance and Savings Systems: Innovative Tools for Urban Housing Solutions
Published in the Spring 2025 issue of Housing Finance International, this article explores how community-led finance tools—like savings groups and cooperatives—empower urban poor communities to improve housing conditions through accessible, inclusive systems.Read More
New Housing Program Launches to Support Affordable, Resilient Housing for Global Communities
Swedish organizations and CHI members, We Effect, HSB, and Riksbyggen are joining forces to launch an international housing program focused on expanding access to adequate housing for people facing poverty. By leveraging Sweden’s cooperative housing expertise, this collaboration aims to support low-income communities worldwide in organizing, building skills, and securing financing for housing initiatives.Read More
Citizen Financing Mechanisms for Affordable Housing Production in Africa
In December 2020, the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance (CAHF), urbaMonde and urbaSEN signed a partnership agreement to conduct a case study on the collaborative production of affordable housing in Senegal and its financial and legal modeling.Read More
Revolving Fund for Urban Renewal
The revolving fund for urban renewal is a finan- cing tool created in 2016 for the savings groups organized within the Senegalese Federation of Inhabitants (FSH). It is managed by its technical support NGO urbaSEN and finances the ...Read More
VISION 4 HOUSING
Vision 4 Youth Housing Cooperative in Kenya is a youth group focused on providing its members with quality housing. Based in Nakuru Town, an area with an average growth rate of 3.1% per annum, compared to the Kenyan average of 2.6 ...Read More
Housing Co-operatives in South Africa: Presentation to the ICA Housing Seminar and Round Table
This presentation goes over housing in South Africa, the role of housing coops, examples and types of housing coops, funding, issues/challenges, and the way forward. Click here to view the full presentation. ...Read More
Zambia’s Rural Housing and Enhanced Youth Skills Development
Community-led initiatives in Zambia have shown success, like in Lumwana, where a group of youth was trained on block moulding to build a house. Read More
Civic Forum on Housing and Habitat Zambia (CFHHZ)
Housing inequalities have continued to rise both in urban and rural areas of Zambia. If the country does not change its practices it is estimated there will be a deficit of 3.3 million homes by 2030. Read More
Zambia National Housing Policy Paving the Way for Cooperatives
Last year, the Zambian Government launched the 2020 National Housing Policy. The policy further recognizes housing cooperatives and community-led housing initiatives as an avenue to deliver affordable and adequate housing. Read More
Profils d’un mouvement : Les coopératives d’habitation dans le monde
L'habitat coopératif offre des logements abordables à long terme, gérés par les résidents, avec des avantages sociaux, économiques et environnementaux avérés. Malgré son impact mondial, ce secteur reste méconnu.Read More
Public Cooperative Housing Policies: An International Perspective
Explore public policies supporting cooperative housing worldwide in this comprehensive report. Discover how governments and cooperatives collaborate to create sustainable and affordable housing solutions globally.Read More
Financing Co-operative and Mutual Housing
The Commission's final report on Cooperative and Mutual Housing (Bringing Democracy Home) highlighted the need for consideration of the role that cooperative and mutual housing could play in the national housing strategy. The Fina ...Read More
Logement abordable : profils de cinq villes métropolitaines
Par cette publication, nous souhaitons ouvrir le débat sur le logement en tant que droit fondamental et enjeu métropolitain, en mettant en lumière l’expérience de grandes métropoles et dans l’espoir d’inspirer des idées nouvelles pour aborder cet enjeu absolument fondamental de l’urbanisation moderne.Read More
Building Strong Development Cooperation: Partnership Opportunities between Cooperatives and the EU
In 2000, United Nations (UN) member states recognised the need to build global partnerships for development and the exchange of expertise as one of the Millennium Development Goals. Across the international development field, part ...Read More
Raising Capital: The Capital Conundrum for Co-operatives
New report: The Capital Conundrum for Co-operatives "The Capital Conundrum for Co-operatives", a new report released by the Alliance’s Blue Ribbon Commission explores ideas and options available to co-operatives that need suitab ...Read More
Financing Housing Co-operatives in a Credit Crunch
Financing the development of housing co-operatives is a challenge and more so in time of financial restrictions and uncertainty. CHI members discussed the issue during a seminar held in November 2009 in Geneva. Presentations w ...Read More
What’s new in Sustainable Forest Management?
The Forest Products Annual Market Review 2013 reports that the development of new refinement processes has led to the production of new and more affordable wood based products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT). The report sta ...Read More
The Guidance Notes on the Co-operative Principles
Updated Guidance Notes on the Co-operative Principles, edited by David Rodgers, former President of Co-operative Housing InternationalRead More
Promoting Cooperatives – International Labour Organization (ILO) Recommendation 193 on the Promotion of Cooperatives
The ILO views cooperatives as important in improving the living and working conditions of women and men globally as well as making essential infrastructure and services available even in areas neglected by the state and investor-driven enterprises. Cooperatives have a proven record of creating and sustaining employment – they provide over 100 million jobs today; they advance the ILO’s Global Employment Agenda and contribute to promoting decent work.Read More
Profiles of a Movement: Co-operative Housing around the World – Volume One
Cooperative housing offers long-term, affordable homes governed by residents, with proven social, economic, and environmental benefits. Despite its global impact, the sector remains under-recognized.Read More
Students and Housing Cooperatives
Student housing cooperatives have become very popular in the USA and many of these housing co-operatives are members of organizations such as NASCO. Unlike a resident who acquires shares at market rates to earn the right to occupy ...Read More
Good Governance Charter for Housing Co-operatives
The Good Governance Charter for Housing Co-operatives was launched at the ICA Housing Plenary in Manchester in November 2012.It has three parts:A 10-point set of good governance practicesAn interpretive statement for each good p ...Read More
Profiles of a Movement: Co-operative Housing around the World – Volume Two
This second volume of Housing Co-operative Profiles focuses on African countries, showcasing the ingenuity and commitment of cooperators working under difficult conditions. It offers insights into the legal, financial, and historical contexts of housing co-ops, aiming to inspire broader adoption of the model as a solution to the global housing crisis.Read More
The Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade and its Special Application to the Housing Sector
The Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade is a worldwide campaign to “take the co-operative way of doing business to a new level”. The five key elements of the Blueprint are participation, sustainability, identity, legal frameworks and capital. The Blueprint is particularly relevant to co-operative housing and the Blueprint interpretation for co-operative housing below explains how.Read More