New Book Announcement: The Community Land Trust Reader (Land Lines Article)

Editor(s): Davis, John E.
Publication Date: April 2010

1 pages; Inventory ID LLA100407; English


New Book Announcement: The CLT Reader	510 KB

Article

New Lincoln Institute Book
The Community Land Trust Reader

The Community Land Trust Reader brings together for the first time the seminal texts that inspired and defined the CLT. Selections trace the intellectual origins of an eclectic model of tenure that was shaped by the social theories of Henry George, Ebenezer Howard, Ralph Borsodi, and Arthur Morgan, and by social experiments like the Garden Cities of England and the Gramdan villages of India.

The community land trust arrived quietly on the American scene in the late 1960s, an outgrowth of the civil rights movement in the Deep South to help African-American farmers gain access to agricultural land. It soon found many other uses, including affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization, as it spread to urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the country. By 2005, there were more than 200 CLTs, with a dozen new ones being organized every year. Today, CLTs are operating in 44 states and the District of Columbia, and they are being introduced in other countries as well: Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, and Kenya.

Rapid growth has brought many newcomers to the CLT movement, as residents, staff and governing board members, and public officials in communities hosting this new, innovative form of tenure that combines common ownership of land with individual ownership of any buildings located on that land. While these activists bring enthusiasm and energy to support the movement, many of them lack a deeper understanding of the origins and evolution of the CLT model to which they are so committed.

As the number, size, and diversity of CLTs grow, the model is being pushed beyond the ideological, organizational, and operational boundaries that once defined it. By cultivating a shared understanding of the model’s origins, including the ideas and values underlying its many variations, we make it easier for distant CLTs to find a common identity and pursue a common agenda. At a time when much of the growth in the movement is being stimulated by local governments, it is especially important to be reminded of the model’s core principles, such as inclusive membership and popular election of the governing board.

Conversely, a wider knowledge of the model’s origins may help us let go of features that no longer serve the model’s purposes or constituencies. A deeper appreciation for the evolution of CLTs may encourage today’s practitioners to continue the experimentation that gave rise to the model in the first place.

The Reader does not look only to the past, however. Many of its 46 essays and excerpts examine contemporary applications of the CLT in promoting home ownership, spurring community development, protecting public investment, mandating stewardship, and capturing land gains for the common good. They describe a modern-day model of private, nonmarket ownership that is fighting for acceptance on a national stage where better-known tenures historically favored by the market and state are the featured players.

Much of the Reader offers reflections on the present state of the CLT—how the model is or could be applied to promote economic equality, enhance residential security, and improve the quality of life in both urban and rural communities. Every time the CLT has spread to another region of the United States, there has been a burst of new ideas and new techniques that have enriched the movement as a whole. The same is sure to happen as the CLT spreads to other countries.

The final section of the book describes trends, challenges, and opportunities that are likely to have a significant impact on limiting or expanding the CLT movement in the years ahead. Such issues are not unique to the CLT, although they have special relevance for the everyday practice of CLTs. They also stake out the expansive intellectual and political space within which the movement as a whole may find room to grow.

The origins of this book can be traced to the National Community Land Trust Academy. Founded in 2006 as a joint venture of the National CLT Network and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Academy provides comprehensive training on theories and practices unique to CLTs. Many of the essays and excerpts contained in this collection have been regularly assigned as required readings in Academy courses. By bringing them together in a single volume, these materials are made more accessible for classroom use, as well as for practitioners, public officials, community activists, and others who want to learn more about the heritage of this vital movement.

About the Editor

John Emmeus Davis is partner and cofounder of Burlington Associates in Community Development in Vermont, a consulting cooperative specializing in projects that promote permanently affordable housing. Contact: burlassoc@aol.com

The Community Land Trust Reader
Edited by John Emmeus Davis
2010 / 616 pages / Paper / $35.00
ISBN: 978-1-55844-205-4