Spring 2018 EcoBlock Equity Blog Post 1
The goal of our project is to construct a single ownership model for Eco-Block that would outline the structure, community, programming, and services/ utilities for the selected site. In doing this, we have researched different ownership models, such as private ownership, rental, condominium, cooperative, rental equity, co-housing, land trust, and non-profit as potential models. We have evaluated these types based on a comprehensive model of social and financial values. So far, we have individually researched each model according to these criteria and provided write-ups. Additionally, we have met with our team law student to determine the feasibility of these model in a realistic legal and economic scenario.
The next steps that we will take for the project include discussing and deciding upon a single hybrid ownership model that brings together the best of our research. Our goal is to accomplish this model by March 1st so that we can present our first draft to an expert. Additionally, we will discuss with people who have personal experience in these environments in order to gain a more in-depth perspective. We hope that through these different sources—both academic and real-world—we can effectively hypothesize a model achieves our goals. Once we have the model constructed, we will give a mid-semester presentation to experts and organizations, such as T-Rex. The feedback that we receive from these presentations will guide us in formulating a stronger, more cohesive model that suits community benefits we may have overlooked. The final outcome of our project will be a presentation to a panel of community members which incorporates all of our research and discussion. We hope that our work will help Eco-Block in the future when deciding upon the logistical features of the block itself.
Working individually has helped us significantly in completing research that involves such a wide-scope of topics. Because we have split the work up evenly, we can each become well-acquainted with the information and determine the pros and cons of each type of ownership model. One challenge of this approach is that we may start to favor own model over others. In order to address this issue, we will have a discussion where we debate the benefits and drawbacks of each type and collectively decide upon the final product. Another challenge that we have faced is that none of us have a large amount of previous knowledge about these communities and how it may be implemented in real life. Therefore, we have to reach out to other experts, the law student, and people who have experience living in these ownership models in order to make up for our lack of experience. Overall, we have made a large amount of progress and are becoming individual experts in these models which we previously did not know much about.