Abstract:

The major objectives of this 1991 study of Canadian nonprofit housing cooperatives were to investigate how differences in design and the variable ability of residents, especially people with disabilities, to control important features of their spatial environment affect their quality of life. The research was concerned centrally with relationships among control, built form, social organization, and perceived quality of life. The materials discussed focus on residents' assessments. A sample of 16 co-ops was drawn, all except 2 in the Metro Toronto region. Data were gathered through site visits, interviews, and a small survey conducted of all co-op households containing a member with a disability and half of all other households. Results showed that those residents who felt they could influence their co-op the most and those who found that the co-op form of social organization made the most difference to their housing satisfaction also rated their residential quality of life the highest. That is, residents' perceived social control over their residential environment was more important than their perceived physical control in explaining perceived quality of life.