Is cohousing good for democracy? Comparing political participation among residents of cohousing communities and traditional condominium developments

Abstract

This study assesses the argument that cohousing constitutes a politically fertile form of civil-society association, which hones political skills and cultivates political efficacy among residents, by comparing self-reported political participation levels of residents of cohousing and residents of condominiums. This design allows for more causal leverage than found in past research. However, the findings are still exploratory. Data from a nationwide survey of residents of cohousing and condominium developments in the U.S. were used to test the hypothesis that cohousing residents participate in politics at a higher level than do residents of condominiums. While the sample was small (n = 311), the results suggest both a strong self-selection effect among residents of cohousing and independent effects for involvement in housing-community practices and activism. The results also suggest that residents of condominiums increase their political participation due to cohousing-like practices and activism. Overall, the findings constitute a tentative step toward establishing causation, thus augmenting earlier research on cohousing as a form of civil society that fosters political engagement, and potentially bolster a civil-society case for repurposing condominiums into cohousing communities.

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