CLTs vary dramatically, depending on the principles and choices of their members and the constraints and possibilities of their contexts. The resources below do not necessarily reflect all CLTs or those that we envision in NYC, but provide a broad sense of how CLTs differ from other approaches to land tenure.
The Community Land Trust Reader (2010) – A comprehensive book of theoretical essays on various aspects of CLTs, edited by John E. Davis and published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Includes information on the early relationship of U.S. CLTs to the civil rights movement and Gandhi’s village-gift movement.
CLT Characteristics (2003) – A 4-page document created by Burlington Associates highlighting 10 of the core components associated with CLTs.
Frequently Asked Questions about CLTs (2005) – A 7-page document created by Burlington Associates answering FAQs about the CLT model.
CLT Technical Manual (2011) – A detailed narrative on virtually all considerations of CLT formation; presents CLTs as an alternative tenure arrangement in the theoretical context of land tenure problems in the contemporary United States.
Urban Agriculture and CLTs – A resource database from the National CLT Network; includes a decision-making guide, a digestible presentation on “food security, urban agriculture, and the role of CLTs,” some information on CLT commercial development generally, and links to case studies.
Case Studies & Overviews of Existing CLTs
A Place for Everyone: How a Community Land Trust could Protect Affordability and Assets in Parkdale (2011) – a research report on the opportunities and challenges of setting up a CLT in Parkdale (a Toronto neighborhood) to address food and housing insecurity.
Cultivating a Governance Model for a Community Land Trust in Parkdale (2011) – a report used to guide the development of governance structures and processes for Toronto’s Parkdale Neighborhood Trust.
Streets of Hope: The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood (1999) – A book telling the story of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, an organization in Boston that created a successful CLT.
Holding Ground (1996) – A documentary on Boston’s Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), exploring the organization’s use of a CLT to take control of local community development.
Cheaper Together: How Neighbors Invest in Community (2012) – An article in YES! Magazine about taking the profit out of rental housing.
Lands in Trust: Homes that Last (2009) – A 25-year performance review of Champlain Housing Trust – the largest land trust in the country and winner of a 2008 UN Habitat Award.
The Burden of Fees: How Housing is Made Unaffordable – A report by Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), in coordination with the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project.
East Harlem Affordable Housing Under Threat: Strategies for Preserving Rent-Regulated Units – A 2012 report prepared by the Regional Planning Association for Community Board 11 in Manhattan that raises CLTs a potential mechanism for affordable housing preservation.
For additional literature on Community Land Trusts, refer to the websites of the Burlington Associates and the Grounded Solutions Network.
nyccli.org 