Advancing Community Land Trusts

New Economy Project works with community groups to expand CLTs and social housing in NYC.

New Economy Project has played an instrumental role building a strong local movement for community land trusts (CLTs), as part of broader fights for housing justice and economic democracy. Today, more than 20 CLTs are organizing across the five boroughs to ensure permanently affordable housing and community-led development in NYC’s Black, brown and immigrant neighborhoods. 
 
New Economy Project provides one-on-one support to emerging CLTs, facilitates community and popular education workshops, conducts applied research and media advocacy, and advocates for policies to strengthen CLTs and social housing in New York.
 
As a founding member and convener of the NYC Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI), New Economy Project coordinates coalition-building, policy advocacy, peer learning, and collaboration among CLTs. In recent years, we facilitated a two-year CLT learning exchange for a dozen new CLTs, and led an effort that secured groundbreaking City support for CLT organizing and incubation. With NYCCLI and other allies across New York City and State, we are fighting for policies and funding to expand the supply of deeply and permanently affordable,  community-controlled housing, as well as community and commercial spaces, to address root causes of our affordability and homelessness crisis.

Read more about our CLT work here.