Decentralized American Cooperative Housing: Increasing Collectivity And Density Through Subdivision
UCLA CityLab Small Lots Big Impact Design Competition — Gentle Density Category
As part of the first phase of the 2025 Small Lots Big Impact Design Competition, participants were tasked with proposing innovative homeownership models for the City’s small, overlooked, and forgotten lots. The designs imagine a sustainable urban future that redefines the Los Angeles residential landscape through infill, shared amenities, and compact communities as alternatives to the traditional detached house.
Our proposal aims to create scalable, permanently affordable homes by decoupling the human right to a home from speculation and wealth accumulation. The opportunity presented by the Small Lots Big Impacts competition is the ideal catalyst to initiate a network of cooperatives, permanently providing affordable housing to Los Angeles residents. Our proposal establishes a Community Land Trust (CLT) that unites independent housing cooperatives under collective land stewardship. Cooperatives take ownership of their buildings, while the CLT retains ownership of the land—leasing it back to each cooperative and thus removing the land from speculative markets while ensuring permanent affordability. At the same time, cooperatives maintain the flexibility to leverage the land for financing future developments.
Although our broader program is expansive in scope, the Gentle Density proposal specifically addresses the design of one such cooperative. This two story infill housing project maximizes cooperative housing benefits by employing a highly adaptable layout. Central to this strategy are lockout rooms, units designed to function independently or combine into larger apartments to meet the changing needs of residents over time. Public circulation corridors integrate thoughtfully with communal courtyards, shared kitchens, lounges, and outdoor terraces, turning functional circulation spaces into active community zones. These spaces adapt flexibly—hosting informal gatherings, facilitating community meals, or providing quiet spaces for relaxation—thus strengthening cooperative life. Architectural strategies support density while preserving livability through efficient spatial planning, generous daylighting, and cross-ventilation.
Designed by Lincoln Ruiz-Truong and Nick Grosh