I am not sure who you think claimed it cannot be replicated. But there are systemic obstacles; for one, the Federal subsidies that existed when your co-op was built no longer exist. Most of the resources for doing this I found on the web focus on major US cities like NYC, SFO, and Balt/Wash.
But I agree - most people do not consider this an option, but unlike you, I don't blame them for some obsession with the "American Dream", whatever that is. I think they just don't realize it is an option and don't have access to resources to learn about it.
[WS:] I think you over-estimate the systemic obstacles. Obtaining credit for coops does not necessarily hinges on HUD - it is possible to form a corporation (which anyone can do in this country) and seek private financing.
I quite honestly believe that the popular resistance to this form of housing is psychological rather than systemic. Most people I spoke to on this subject were not swayed by financial arguments, but instead they said they preferred the comfort of individual ownership, even if it was a more expensive option. It is not a coincidence that coops are limited mostly to ethnic minorities (especially Jews and Blacks) who internalized the norms of social solidarity to a greater degree than a typical WASP.
I believe that WASPs instinctively resist anything "social" - from public safety nets (like public health care, for example) to public or communal ownership of everything - because that is how they have been socially programmed. It is a gut reaction, not a rational choice. You can offer them a life in a socialist paradise and they would refuse, because they instinctively feel more comfortable in an individualistic society, even if they have to pay through the nose for that. No price is too high for personal comfort.
"Social programming" is a concept derived from Emile Durkheim, and supported by modern neuroscience (cf. neuroplasticity or permanent changes in brain cells in response to social conditioning. It does not surprise me a bit that people who grew up in an extremely individualistic society are programmed for individualistic reactions in every day life situations, and feel uncomfortable in more collectivistic societies. The same holds for well documented differences in the perception of social space - most US-ers tend to feel uncomfortable in other cultures that permit much closer proximity among people.
Wojtek