Michigan Cooperative House was founded in 1932 as Michigan Socialist House. It was located at 335 E. Ann Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan campus, and now is located at 315 N. State Street. It is one of the co-op houses making up the Inter-Cooperative Council. In 2016 Michigan Cooperative House and the neighboring Minnies Cooperative House voted to combine the two coops and become one functioning, democratically run cooperative.
Michigan Socialist House was founded in 1932 by a group of students in the University of Michigan Socialist Club as an experiment in putting socialist values into practice and a way to defray the costs of living for students during the Great Depression. Throughout the 1930s, the members of Michigan House managed to provide themselves with full room and board for only two dollars a week, making headlines. [1] In 1939, the members of the house voted to change the name to Michigan Cooperative House, though many people still refer to it by its original name.
Today, Michigan Cooperative House continues to provide housing, food and community living for students and non-students in Ann Arbor.
Michigan Cooperative's functions are intertwined with its neighboring co-op house, Minnie's Cooperative. The two houses are technically two distinct co-ops, but they function as one unit, sharing meals and many aspects of their house cultures.
Ann Arbor is a city in and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the fifth-most populous city in Michigan. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Washtenaw County and had 372,258 residents in 2020. Ann Arbor is also included in the Metro Detroit combined statistical area and the Great Lakes megalopolis.
Ann Arbor Charter Township is a charter township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,673 at the 2020 census. The township borders the city of Ann Arbor and contains numerous exclaves, but the two are administered autonomously.
Dexter is a city situated in Washtenaw County, Michigan, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was recorded at 4,500.
Salem Township is a civil township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,018 at the 2020 census.
The North American Students of Cooperation (NASCO) is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network. NASCO provides its member cooperatives with operational assistance, encourages the development of new cooperatives, and serves as an advocate for cooperatives to government, universities, and communities. NASCO teaches leadership skills, provides information, and serves as a central link in facilitating the fruition of the cooperative vision for students and youth.
The Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan (ICC) is a student owned and operated housing cooperative serving students and community members in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The ICC is an active member of NASCO.
The Human Rights Party (HRP) was a left-wing political party that existed in Michigan from 1970 to 1977. The party achieved electoral success in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. It eventually expanded to include several other Michigan cities with large student populations. In 1975, the HRP became the Socialist Human Rights Party (SHRP), and it later merged with the Socialist Party of Michigan.
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Stefan T. Vail Cooperative House is a housing cooperative for college students at the University of Michigan, Washtenaw Community College, and Eastern Michigan University. A member of the Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) in Ann Arbor, Vail house is named after Stefan Valavanis, a former ICC President who became a notable economist. It is one of only two known adobe buildings in Ann Arbor.
Mary Markley Hall (Markley) is a residence hall operated by the University of Michigan University Housing in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 2006, it was restarted in 2017.
A student housing cooperative, also known as co-operative housing, is a housing cooperative for student members. Members live in alternative cooperative housing that they personally own and maintain. These houses are designed to lower housing costs while providing an educational and community environment for students to live and grow in. They are, in general, nonprofit, communal, and self-governing, with students pooling their monetary and personal resources to create a community style home. Many student housing cooperatives share operation and governing of the house. As with most cooperatives, student housing coops follow the Rochdale Principles and promote collaboration and community work done by the members for mutual benefit.
Depot Town is a commercial area, with some residences above storefronts, in Ypsilanti, Michigan's historic district. Depot Town proper consists of East Cross Street from the Huron River to North River Street, and a small area on the 300-block of North River Street. However, several blocks in the surrounding area are also commonly referred to as part of Depot Town. These areas include Riverside Park, Frog Island Park, and River Street extending north and south for several blocks. First established in the late 1830s, most of the buildings standing today were constructed between 1850 and 1880. Over the years, Depot Town has included hotels, an Underground Railroad station, an American Civil War barracks, and a building that has housed a bar and restaurant continuously for more than 150 years, switching to soft drinks during Prohibition. Today the area is dominated by restaurants and stores. Depot Town also hosts several large summer festivals each year, as well as weekly bike nights and cruise nights.
Escher Cooperative House, named after artist M. C. Escher, is one of the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan's (ICC) 16 student housing cooperatives. It is located at 1500 to 1520 Gilbert Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The only North Campus-located cooperative, it is the ICC's largest community with over 150 spaces of residents and 9 separately themed "suites." It is also the only building in Ann Arbor built specifically for cooperative housing.
The University of Texas Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) is a student owned and operated housing cooperative serving students and community members in Austin, Texas. ICC Austin is an active member of NASCO.
Ypsilanti, commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and east by Ypsilanti Township. It is home of Eastern Michigan University.
New Community is a student housing cooperative located in East Lansing, Michigan and a member house of the Michigan State University Student Housing Cooperative. After having been founded as an independent cooperative in the 1960s, New Community has undergone a series of changes and remains a staple of progressive living in the region.
Albert K. Stevens was a scholar, professor, and early supporter of the student cooperative housing movement in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the 1930s.
Christopher Taylor is an American attorney and politician who has served as the mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan since 2014.
The Eugene V. Debs Cooperative House is a student housing cooperative founded in 1967, one of the 18 cooperative houses which make up the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan. Debs Cooperative is located at 909 East University Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is named for Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs. Debs has a reputation for being politically active, socially conscious, and environmentally focused. House funds go towards maintenance and the purchase of organic food, and members of the house cook vegetarian and vegan meals five nights a week.