Funded by: National Cooperative Bank, Research Foundation of the City University of New York

Building on earlier work on urban fear, this research involved 25 interviews with owners of housing co-ops within New York City about their experiences of safety, social isolation, racism, and rules and regulations in regards to the physical and social space of the co-ops and, in particular, their co-op boards. The outcomes of this research are being compared to the outcomes of the Urban Fear research on gated communities.  Initial findings were presented at the Gated Communities Research Conference at the Universite Sorbonne in Paris, France, in May, 2007.  We are taking special care to analyze the co-op research in regards to issues of legal consciousness (Low), participation and representation (Donovan), and laissez-faire racism and homophobia (Gieseking).

Photo by Boortz47