Community Land Trusts as Resilience

About community land trusts

Community land trusts are non-profit organizations that acquire housing and land to ensure they remain permanently affordable. Community members and other public representatives govern land trusts.

Community land trusts can be found across the country and take on different forms. The model is flexible and intended to allow for adaptation to best serve a community’s unique needs. There are many examples of community land trusts building resiliency for communities before and after a disaster, giving people with low incomes a safe place to call home. 

• Read Community Land = Community Resilience: How Community Land Trusts Can Support Urban Affordable Housing and Climate Initiatives for several examples. 

Impact on frontline communities

The existing models of delivering affordable housing in the United States have left many places with a housing crisis. This crisis has been particularly pronounced for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color in addition to low-income communities. Community land trusts are one model of delivering critical, affordable housing and ensuring that it remains in community control.  

More resources

• Florida Keys Community Land Trust demonstrates how land trusts can deliver resilient, affordable housing options in disaster-affected areas.
• Louisiana Land Trust Resettlement Projects is an example of using money from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program to fund a land trust.