Collective Grounds: Reclaiming the Commons in Bronx CLT/Co-op Hybrids

This thesis explores how new configurations of community land trusts (CLTs) and housing cooperatives can create aggregating spatial hybrids. Focusing on Bronx neighborhoods facing intersecting crises of housing insecurity, climate vulnerability, and energy burdens, the project proposes a networked approach to retrofitting existing residential buildings through economies of scale and creative space planning. Rather than treating each property as an isolated asset, the thesis investigates how buildings, blocks, and urban-scale infrastructure can become vehicles for permanently affordable housing, energy autonomy, and climate resilience—when reimagined as collectively held and managed commons.
Drawing from the spatial traditions of co-housing communities, the project examines how shared ownership and stewardship through hybrid land trust models can enable more resilient systems and communal living configurations. Using four typical Bronx residential typologies, the thesis proposes retrofit strategies and spatial interventions that extend beyond conventional efficiency upgrades to support new forms of collective housing. The sequencing and scaling of these interventions—from individual units to the neighborhood level—push both the limits of common building forms and conventional assumptions around privacy, dwelling, and property boundaries.
The resulting design scenarios explore how CLT/co-op hybrids can support shared energy systems, communal amenities, and adaptable units that respond to resident and community needs. The thesis calls for a shift in architectural practice: from producing isolated objects to building frameworks for shared use and governance. It asks how architects might move beyond the scale of private property to support communities as they stitch together more expansive, integrated, and resilient spaces.