Heidi Berggren

Dr. Heidi Berggren is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she teaches courses on American politics, political internships, and reproductive rights & health. Her academic work focuses on the intersection of housing, political participation, and social policy.

Dr. Berggren earned her PhD from the University of Colorado. Her educational background has prepared her for research at the nexus of political behavior, gender studies, and community development.

Dr. Berggren's research interests center on the cohousing movement, work-family policy, social policy, gender and politics, and gender-role attitudes. She examines how alternative housing arrangements like cohousing can foster greater civic engagement and political participation. Her work particularly explores how community living arrangements impact democratic processes and social capital formation, with a focus on gender dynamics within these communities.

Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on cohousing as a mechanism for civic renewal and democratic engagement. Across her articles, she has established a research trajectory examining how intentional communities can serve as laboratories for democratic innovation and social improvement. Her work bridges political science, urban studies, and sociology, creating interdisciplinary insights about community building and political behavior.

Dr. Berggren serves as the Assistant Director of the Cohousing Research Network, where she coordinates research efforts across multiple institutions. She is currently setting up a longitudinal panel study of residents of cohousing communities throughout the United States, aiming to discover the determinants of successful and accessible cohousing models.