In Karen A. Gray’s article about Community Land Trusts in America, many opinions and facts about the pros and cons of Community Land Trusts are presented. The further I got into this article, the more I was pro-CLT’s. With the massive increase in homelessness and overpriced housing, “one-third of our nation is ‘shelter poor,’ meaning individuals and families are unable to pay for non-shelter needs because their cost of housing uses too much of their incomes” (Gray 66). This large number of shelter poor people is not shocking due to the nonstop increase in pricing for everything. Housing and rent prices have skyrocketed due to gentrification, and basic human needs, such as food and clothes, cost the equivalent of multiple hours of work at a minimum wage job. What is most frustrating about this situation is that this issue is “still described as an ‘affordability crisis,’” instead of a problem caused by high taxes, gentrification, inflation (Gray 66). While there are some cons to CLT’s, the benefits are far better and make it worth the minor downfalls. With the stability and better future CLT’s offer their residents, people have a better chance of increasing their financial stability and overall well-being. Being able to afford a home is a basic human right, and with the massive influx of housing prices, it is only a matter of time before more than half of the American population cannot afford descent living conditions. While CLT’s are increasing in areas such as “California, the Northwest, and Florida,” there needs to be at least a dozen CLT’s in every major city/county (72). By helping low income families acquire stable housing, they are more likely to increase financial stability and be able to afford housing on their own in the future. This leads to taking more people off of the “shelter poor” list and makes room to move on to helping others in similar situations. While CLT’s are mainly controlled by state officials and nonprofit organizations, there is a need for the government to get further involved in this situation. Instead of budgeting money towards unnecessary causes that benefit a small percent of the population, the government should dedicate its time to helping the poor and underrepresented. Community Land Trusts seem like a successful and logical way of helping citizens have better living conditions and quality of life. This article has made me extremely supportive of this cause and has led me to seek solutions to spreading awareness, funding, and support of CLT’s.
While I may not know all of the details that go into CLT’s, it is fairly obvious that money is a key player in the success or failure of CLT’s and their homeowners. I am sure that CLT’s are trying their best to advocate for donations in any form, but some further advocacy ideas include government support and influencer support. I believe one of the main issues as to why CLT’s are not as popular is because of a lack of awareness of these causes and what their true goal is. It was only until I read this article that I truly started to understand this topic, and if it were not for this class, I may have never known. If more people were educated on the topic of affordable housing, community land trusts, and gentrification, I truly believe a difference can be made. While CLT’s are mainly handled by states, this cause should be funded by the government. The amount of unnecessary spending and unjust budgeting by the government could easily create or fund numerous land trusts and help further the quality of life for homeowners. I am not sure of all of the specific actions required to present a cause to higher government officials, but with the support of just one influential person of power, the impact could be huge. Furthermore, there has been a tremendous increase in awareness of social justice issue over multiple social media platforms due to promotion by people with mass followings. One influencer with even a million followers could raise a substantial amount of donations to multiple CLT’s. While there are more details and nitty gritty specifics to be tackled, the ultimate goal of promoting CLT’s could be life changing for citizens and for the country as a whole. The main issue is raising awareness and we as a society need to figure out how to do just that.
Maybe it’s true that CLTs just need better marketing campaigns! They also need better organizers. You might be interested in reading about the New York City Community Land Trust Initiative (NYCCLI, pronounced “nicely”), which is trying to get the city government to invest more money in the development of land trusts. Cooper Square is currently the oldest land trust in New York, but the East Harlem CLT is making headway too, along with almost a dozen others. If you were to create a marketing campaign, how would you do it? I’m really interested in how to get more people involved!