Equity-Centered Alternatives to Land Ownership

Shared-equity models offer potential solutions to many difficult planning challenges. Legal alternatives to traditional homeownership, like community land trusts, resident owned communities, cooperatives, and deed restricted housing can develop and safeguard affordable housing and foster community development without instigating displacement. Planners, land use lawyers, and other allied professionals may have studied or encountered such models in their education and practice; however, traditional planning education rarely provides in-depth training on how shared-equity ownership works in practice. This presentation:

• Breaks down the legal process to implement shared-equity housing programs;

• Compares legal mechanisms for ensuring affordability, depending on project goals and legal and financial constraints;

• Highlights case studies that illustrate how equity-centered alternatives have developed affordable housing and fostered community well-being;

• Offers an opportunity to reflect and share examples from your own jurisdiction; and

• Underscores the importance of shared-equity models, especially in contrast to traditional American land ownership, for promoting racial, economic, and social justice.

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