In Greenbelt, Maryland, New Deal history meets co-op spirit

The New Deal Cafe is an award-winning cooperative cafe and music venue in the heart of historic Greenbelt, MD. Greenbelt residents call the cafe "Greenbelt's living room." [photo: Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post]About 10 miles outside of Washington, DC, Greenbelt, Maryland is a hub of democratic economic participation, shared ownership and civic life. Rocket scientists from NASA live next door to artists. From its member-owned grocery store and housing cooperative to a volunteer-run maker space, cinema and community newspaper, Greenbelt's institutions reflect a deeply rooted belief that communities thrive when people actively build them together.

Of three New Deal-era "green towns" built across the country in 1937, only Greenbelt remained out of the hands of private investors. Today, it's a diverse, modern community that demonstrates how cooperatives preserve affordability and sustain civic life for decades.

In a recent Washington Post feature, journalist Elliot Williams explores how residents of Greenbelt live cooperation as a daily practice, not an abstract concept.

"People don't just sit back and let things happen here," Greenbelt native Kim Kash says in the article.

Read the full article