This is not really a "construction" idea, but most of the other ideas for apartments and condos are here, so I decided to put this one here. I have lived in several apartment and condo complexes over the last 25 years. It's always the same deal, that is, the landlord and/or management company does all the work, even things that can be safely done by residents, such as shoveling snow, raking leaves, picking up litter, and pruning shrubbery with hand tools. Most residents prefer having all of this work done for them, but some, such as me, would like to help with the work. My idea is to organize a condo complex, preferably from day one, such that there is a corps of volunteers who help with the work. This would be carefully set up such that volunteers only do work they can do safely and any work that requires using power tools, ladders, etc. or that requires licenses, such as wiring, would still be done by paid professionals. I know of a condo complex in Portsmouth, NH where they have been doing this for over 5 years, and it has worked out well. I said "condos" in the title because condo organizations seem to be a lot more inflexible about things like this than apartment landlords are. I think this is because the organizational structure is more complicated, that is, any new ideas like this have to pass muster with both the owners' association and the management company. But this idea would work well for apartment complexes too. Some advantages of doing this:1. It would reduce costs, which would hold down rents for apartments and condo fees for condos. 2. It would increase residents' pride in their community.3. It would provide an opportunity for residents to socialize. In most of the apartment and condo complexes I am familiar with in New England, there are very few such opportunities.

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