Impact of CLT on Racial Equity

Keywords: Community Land Trust, Racial Equity
Session Type: Virtual Paper
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 4/10/2021 03:05 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/10/2021 04:20 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 11

Abstract

Although housing policy and neighborhood revitalization programs have attempted to ameliorate the impacts of the housing crisis and urban decay on communities of color, research has demonstrated the failure of most such programs due to their top-down, colorblind, and out-of-context approaches. In response to the needs of community voices in neighborhood development, community-based organizations have taken an active role in organizing community-led planning. In recent years, community groups all over the US and abroad have sought out the CLT model as a tool to resist gentrification, build community-controlled assets, and promote sustainable development. Despite the attention the CLT model has recently received, little is known about the CLTs’ impacts on racial equity and outcomes at community and neighborhood levels. Most studies on CLTs were based on the large CLTs in areas with relatively less urgent housing needs. Given the needs and support for CLTs are strongest in a hot housing market where low-income communities of color are at high risk of displacement, this is an imperative area of inquiry. The present study addresses these gaps in the literature through a case study of the NYC CLT initiatives currently developing CLTs in racially and economically diverse neighborhoods under high pressure of gentrification. This study will investigate whether, to what extent, and how the CLT model can advance racial and economic equity in land use and neighborhood planning by mobilizing low-income communities of color.