The Land and Communities team at the Lincoln Institute helps local leaders adopt and implement land policies that expand access to secure and affordable housing, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and create local economies that work for everyone. We accomplish our mission by conducting timely and relevant research, building networks and sharing knowledge, supporting and scaling innovation, and strengthening the capacity of local leaders, including community-based organizations, planners, practitioners, and policymakers.
We envision a world in which every person can be part of a community that is thriving, inclusive, healthy, and resilient. And we see a path to get there through forward-looking land policies that prioritize public good over private profit, are developed through participatory planning processes, leverage resources and partnerships from across sectors, and are grounded in the best available data and evidence.
We organize and advance our work through three program areas:
- Urban Sustainability, which helps local leaders in cities and urban regions anticipate and respond to climate change and build communities that are resilient and sustainable.
- Equity and Opportunity, which helps local leaders in smaller cities and cities experiencing population loss adopt and implement inclusive economic development strategies that contribute to broadly shared prosperity. The Equity and Opportunity program area includes the Legacy Cities and Remaking Local Economies initiatives.
- Land and Housing, which helps local leaders leverage research and innovative land policies to produce and preserve quality affordable housing, protect residents from displacement, build wealth through housing, and develop land for housing more efficiently and resiliently.
