Could the precise architectural form of your residence influence how much you participate in politics? A new study by MIT scholars finds this to be exactly the case — at least in Accra, Ghana, where many people live in semi-communal structures known as “compound houses,” often sharing kitchens, bathrooms, and common living-room spaces, while having private bedrooms.The detailed study of homes in Ghana’s capital finds that residents of compound houses are more likely to vote, attend rallies, and take part in political campaigns, compared to people with more private forms of housing. “The overarching pattern we find is that if you compare people who live in compound houses to residents of other housing types, like single-family homes or self-contained apartments, there is a pretty big difference in political actions,” says Noah Nathan, an MIT political scientist and co-author of a newly published paper detailing the study’s results. “People seem to vote more, and there are more other types of political behavior, like going to rallies, participating in campaigns, and contacting politicians.”While those differences could stem from factors other than housing, the highly granular study suggests the architecture itself really matters. The researchers examined the specific floor plans of compound houses and found variations in people’s political information and social connections — key factors that existing studies show predict political activity — that map to differences in where people live within compound houses.