Can Community Land Trusts Solve the Housing Crisis?

The 2025 National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s Just Economy conference brought together passionate advocates for a fair and just economy. Housing, specifically transformative ideas around community land trusts, was a hot topic of conversation. I arrived at the conference with a general understanding of community land trusts and left with deeper knowledge of their history and potential to address present day challenges. Community land trusts are not just a tool to provide affordable housing–they can serve as catalysts for community stabilization and as a source of pride and dignity for those who participate.

In the United States, several factors contribute to the housing affordability crisis: increasing mortgage interest rates and home prices, intensifying community displacement, reduced housing supply due to real estate speculation and aggregation on the part of private financial institutions. As a result, community land trusts are increasingly being discussed as a potential solution.

Three people planting flowers. — *Image from Unsplash courtesy of* *Kenny Eliason.*

What are community land trusts and how do they work?

According to the International Center for Community Land Trusts, a community land trust is a nonprofit corporation that holds land on behalf of a place-based community, while serving as the long-term steward for affordable housing, community gardens, civic buildings, commercial spaces and other community assets on behalf of a community. Shelterforce adds that community land trusts are independent community-controlled entities.

Community land trusts operate by separating land ownership from building ownership. Usually, a non-profit or government entity owns the land and leases it to residents at a lower cost. This long-term, renewable lease allows building owners to secure loans for construction or improvements and pass the property on to future generations.

A time-honored solution to the housing affordability crisis

The concept of community land trusts is relatively new in the US. According to the Grounded Solutions Network, the first community land trust - New Communities - grew out of the southern civil rights movement as a tool for establishing a new form of land tenure for black farmers and their families. They pioneered the first officially recognized land trust in the US. Originally founded as a collective farm in Albany, GA, in the 1970s, New Communities functioned as an independent base for survival, serving as a safe refuge for families threatened with eviction due to their involvement in the civil rights movement. The farm covered 6,000 acres and was the home of a thriving agricultural community network of farmers and activists working to address African American land loss, food-related disparities, and environmental, racial and economic inequity..

Today, there are nearly 225 community land trusts in the US aiming to untether housing from unwieldy market forces. Thriving examples include Africatown Community Land Trust, in Seattle, WA; Rondo Community Land Trust in St.Paul, MN; and Community Arts Stabilization Trust in San Francisco, CA. Although the modern community land trust model started in the US, the concept dates back centuries and has been seen worldwide. The Gramdan Villages of India, Moshav communities and Garden Cities in Israel, and others have set out to create thriving and connected communities through a shared equity model of homeownership.

A group of people standing in front of a home. — *Image from homepage of Dudley Street Neighbor Initiative* *website*.

What are the experts saying?

The Just Economy conference featured two land trust representatives: John Smith, of the Dudley Street Neighbor Initiative, started in 1984 in Roxbury, Boston, MA, and Aaron Martinez with the Urban Land Conservancy, based in Denver, CO. On Dudley Street Neighbor’s Land, there are affordable homes and rental units, commercial spaces, parks, community gardens, and even a thriving greenhouse facility. Fun fact about the Dudley Street Neighbor Initiative: it’s the only community organization that has eminent domain.

John and Aaron emphasized that historically and today, community land trusts have emerged in response to social, political, and economic challenges. They highlighted the potential of community land trusts to address the wealth gap, housing costs, community and cultural displacement, and the real estate market by:

Preventing aggressive displacement to keep communities intact, thereby preserving community amenities and organizing land use around community benefits rather than market forces or profit-driven approaches.

Championing a development without displacement approach to housing and community development which incorporates community feedback and collaboration to build amenities such as community centers, healthcare centers, educational facilities, workforce and job training programs, and fresh food opportunities.

Oshane Mcrae pictured at the Just Economy Conference.

Community land trusts are more than just a tool to provide affordable housing - they are catalysts for community stabilization, sources of pride and dignity, and much more. Learning about the evolution of community land trusts, especially the perspectives shared by John and Arron at the 2025 NCRC Just Economy Conference, inspired me to expand my perspective on future housing solutions.

For more on this topic visit: What Is a Community Land Trust? - International Center for Community Land Trusts, Grounded Solutions Network, Democracy Collaborative, and Lincoln Land Institute. Interested in learning more about community land trusts, and other innovative solutions to address housing challenges? Fourth Economy can help engage communities and identify best practices that work in contexts all across the United States. Reach out today!