Investigating the Implications of Establishing of a Community Land Trust

Client
We Stay/Nos Quedamos
Faculty
Alan Cohn
Team
Monica Flores, Joyce Li, Yixin Li, Karlo Ludwig, Stephan Petryczka
We Stay/Nos Quedamos (NQ), a New York-based nonprofit community development corporation, is committed to promoting healthy and sustainable growth. NQ is pursuing the establishment of a community land trust to address the lack of affordable housing in the South Bronx and create a more intentional and equitable community fabric in the area. NQ engaged a Capstone team to aid in the establishment of the land trust by assessing the formation’s logistical, legal, and societal implications. The team conducted a literature review of land trust formation legal and financial frameworks and completed a series of case studies from around the country. The team recommended which geographic clusters of vacant lots NQ should target for its initial affordable housing developments, how to form strategic external partnerships, and best practices in developing a governance structure for the prospective land trust.
Capstone Year
2017-2018