Housing prices are constantly rising, making it hard for Rochester families in under-served neighborhoods to sustain themselves. The idea of affordable homeownership for has become nothing more than a dream for many Rochesterians.

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) establish long-term affordable housing and enable residents with low to moderate incomes to become homeowners. CLTs maintain ownership of their acquired land, allowing them to create permanently affordable housing. Even when houses are sold or rented, the original affordable price of the house stays the same. CLTs are thus able to ensure that homes are permanently affordable, even when market rate development and gentrification increase the price of other homes in the same area.

CLT’s are also community based organizations. They are committed to the community members they serve, and are often involved in more than just affordable housing work. Partnerships with local organizations allow CLT’s to develop the entire community, not just the houses they purchase. Food security, youth employment opportunities, and education are just a few ways that CLT’s offer a wide range of services to their community members. In this way, CLT’s deliver both permanent affordable housing and community transformations.

CLT’s allow members to decide what changes their neighborhood needs. With the help of a CLT, their hopes become much more attainable.

The first organization using the term ‘community land trust’ in the U.S., called New Communities, Inc., was founded with the purpose of helping African American  farmers in the rural South to gain access to farmland.

For a full directory of CLT’s see the Schumacher Center for a new economics.