What if housing offered more than four walls and gave residents a real voice in how they live? In this episode, Dia talks with McKenzie Jones, a founding owner of Ithaca’s Aurora Pocket Neighborhood Cooperative, about co-living, cohousing, pocket neighborhoods, and legal housing co-ops.

Learn how these models can help people pool resources, share costs and responsibilities, build trust, and create a practical safety net without pretending community life is effortless.

McKenzie explains why clear agreements, democratic decision-making, and “one member, one vote” matter, and how cooperative habits can begin without buying property: a shared meal, garden, snowblower, or offer of help can be a first step. Could your neighborhood do this? Listen and subscribe to the Ithaca Local Economy Lab.

In this episode:

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