Andria was founded in 1975 as a building cooperative in Correggio, Italy (near Reggio Emilia) during the first years of the public housing plans. Originally, it took on the task of organizing requests and managing the building process. In performing this important social role, enabling many families to purchase their first home, the cooperative gained important expertise and developed an innovative approach. The building cooperative of the 1990s then became Andria Housing Cooperative. While it started out building houses, over time it became a point of reference for residents wanting to improve their community and quality of life through an organized and participatory process where decision-making processes, strategic objectives, and quantity and quality of the outcomes can be relied upon.