Community land trusts are an unusual but growing method of ownership, where the land is shared but members own their own homes. According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, they're good for neighborhood stabilization and rarely foreclose.
A new book from the Lincoln Institute explains the long history of community land trusts (CLTs) and why they're a good idea today.
"Community land trusts are at a critical turning point, and many opportunities lie ahead," said Gregory K. Ingram, president of the Lincoln Institute, which maintains a partnership with the National CLT Network to support training and research on community land trusts. "This book aptly frames an approach that can counter today's tumult in housing markets and provide sustainable affordable housing."
Read the full story: The origins of the CLT
Community land trusts could be the secret to more co-op housing. Just ask Canada.
In Canada, more than half of all housing on community land trusts is cooperative housing. In the U.S., that number is less than 2%. Why?
Denver Land Trust Fights Displacement Whether It Owns the Land or Not
Tierra Colectiva, a community land trust in the Denver neighborhoods of Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, combines community organizing, traditional CLT development, and more unusual roles in a large affordable housing development.
Maui's Miraculous Feat: Staving off ‘Disaster Capitalism’ in the Wake of Wildfire
Sometimes disasters open a space for bigger and faster positive change. In Lahaina, Hawai'i, after the devastating fires in 2023, community leaders built on preexisting relationships to approach housing and land in new ways.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
HUD, USDA agree on framework to simplify housing environmental review standards
Their agreement is a requirement of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
Cost of water rising at a faster pace than inflation, median household income
California and Maryland residents have seen their water bills grow especially high.
NYC building owners overwhelmingly comply with new emissions limits
The New York City Department of Buildings is fining owners who did not file emissions reports.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
planning NEXT
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello