Urban Community Land Trusts
Example
Caroline Woolard:
"I am part of a growing community of makers, artists, internet activists, and community organizers who recognize that urban community land trusts are a reliable model for cultural production and neighborhood resilience in New York City and beyond.
With New York City To Be Determined (http://nyctbd.com/about) I am working toward a community land trust (CLT) for internet activists, artists, makers, and community organizers. As we are learning, by working the the New York City Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI), a community land trust is a non-profit organization that owns property, traditionally land, and leases it for truly affordable housing, local businesses, and non-profit initiatives. The deed to the land, the CLT by-laws, and the lease all require that the housing be permanently affordable. The land can never be traded or sold to the highest bidder on the private market.
I am excited about the importance of community land trusts and worker cooperatives as living examples of resilient institutions that keep individuals in dialog over time and create jobs for underemployed creative people.
I am inspired by
- Fourth Arts Block (http://catalystreview.net/
2014/02/fourth-arts-block-leading-cultural-advancement-in-new-york-city/) and
- 3B (http://3bbrooklyn.com/) as examples of just, democratic, and sustainable examples of solidarity
economies that will remain stable options for future generations because the land is held in trust." (https://www.dropbox.com/s/aker5czsrq1pfo6/NYCTBDwoolardcaroline.pdf)