Community Land Trusts

A family gardening in front of a house

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?

May 15, 2026 - Shelterforce Magazine

People in red shirts holding shovels for photo op at groundbreaking for community land trust project in Denver.

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.

November 5, 2025 - Shelterforce Magazine

White sand beach in Maui, Hawaii on sunny day.

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.

October 22, 2025 - Shelterforce Magazine

Open door leading to stairway in urban brick building.

A Groundbreaking Southern California Land Trust Will Ready Formerly Incarcerated People for Housing Ownership

CLT named after Ruchell "Cinqué" Magee, considered by many to have been the longest-held political prisoner in the United States, aims to create not just affordability, but belonging.

October 6, 2025 - Shelterforce Magazine

Mural of Asian deity on building in San Francisco.

How a San Francisco Land Trust is Preserving Affordable Housing for Artists

The Artist Space Trust has received $10 million in properties bequeathed by artists that will become permanently affordable housing.

August 31, 2025 - Next City

Aerial view of downtown Detroit, Michigan at twilight.

Detroit Launches Community Land Trust

A newly created CLT aims to support the building of affordable housing.

May 5, 2025 - The Detroit News

Close-up of For Lease sign in window of shop storefront with city sidewalk and vintage street light in background.

New California Law Protects Commercial Tenants

The law, modeled on residential tenants’ rights, acknowledges the uneven power dynamics between many small business owners and their commercial landlords.

October 15, 2024 - Next City

Small house with a red tire swing in front yard in Houston, Texas.

Community Land Trusts Offer Relief From High Housing Costs

The nonprofit model is becoming more popular as communities seek ways to reduce housing costs.

September 26, 2024 - Route Fifty

Boston city skyline

Land Trusts Preserve Affordability, but for Whom?

An analysis of buildings bought by the city for a community land trust in Boston reveals that many prior residents were evicted just before the sales.

April 3, 2024 - Next City

Miami

Miami-Dade County Approves Community Land Trust

The unique housing model offers low-income households the opportunity to own homes.

September 25, 2023 - Axios

The Animas River winds through the town of Durango in southwestern Colorado

Durango Mobile Home Park Residents Form Community Land Trust

The model of combining housing co-ops with community land trusts could show a new path forward for increasing housing stability.

August 11, 2023 - High Country News

Google street view of vacant lot used for parking and surrounded by chain link fence and shrubbery in East New York

New Yorkers Need Land. NYPD is Sitting on Nearly 150 Lots.

A new map reveals how much land in New York City is being wasted by city police—often sitting vacant, rather than serving the public good.

May 23, 2023 - Shelterforce Magazine

View of homes nestled among green trees with Columbus, Ohio skyline in background

When a Land Bank Starts a Land Trust

An Ohio land bank adds to its developing power through a community land trust.

May 17, 2023 - Shelterforce Magazine

Brick storefronts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Land Trusts Put Commercial Real Estate in Community Hands

A growing movement to create community-owned commercial spaces could shift power away from institutional landlords.

November 9, 2022 - Next City

View of Seattle skyline with houses in foreground

Community Land Trusts Make Homeownership Accessible

The organizations sell homes to low-income buyers at rates far below market prices, putting homeownership within reach for more families.

September 27, 2022 - Next City

Chinatown gate, Boston

Community Land Trusts Fight for Neighborhood Affordability

The increasingly popular community-oriented mechanism makes neighbors into property owners and preserves affordable housing in perpetuity.

April 17, 2022 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Roanoke, Virginia

Northern Virginians Look to Community Land Trusts to Increase Affordable Housing

As the state's real estate costs rise, community land trusts struggle to access funding and land in order to build more affordable housing.

October 7, 2021 - Greater Greater Washington

Denver Skyline

How One Community Land Trust Delivers Housing Affordability to Denver

The Elevation Community Land Trust's unusual ownership structure and strong initial fundraising have given it a solid footing in the Denver area.

August 18, 2021 - Next City

Place It Workshop

Community Land Trusts: Combining Scale and Community Control

Pitting the straw men of scale and community control against one another does the field more harm than good.

July 28, 2021 - Shelterforce

Empty Homes

Defining the 'Community' in Community Land Trusts

As community land trusts take root and expand, they face numerous questions on how to stay communally-focused while their geographic scope grows.

July 28, 2021 - Shelterforce

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.

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