How community land trusts can fight green gentrification

It was early evening on a Wednesday in New London, Connecticut, when I was humbled yet again by the power of community. The Southeastern Connecticut Community Land Trust (SECT CLT) was holding its monthly chapter meeting, and we were each tasked with writing on an index card what the land trust meant to us. We then went around and shared what we had written: building positive relationships, bringing power to the people, sharing knowledge of land perpetuity, and investing in something bigger than ourselves were just a few.

By valuing place-based community and serving as long-term stewards for affordable housing, community gardens, civic buildings and green spaces, community land trusts have gained traction all over the U.S. — and these voices are needed here more than anywhere.

Connecticut stands out from its neighboring states by its inability to pass substantial climate legislation, and the shortage of affordable housing, exacerbated by COVID-19, is pricing out renters in cities throughout the state. The connection between the climate crisis and the shortage of affordable housing is tangible; one outcome of these dual challenges is green gentrification.

Green gentrification is when the response to climate impacts indirectly increases disparities in communities. This is seen in situations where wealthy people move to historically disenfranchised neighborhoods that have invested in eco-friendly infrastructures and green amenities, causing an increase in property values and rents.

Green gentrification holds the risk of changing the character of a community and affecting any minority, immigrant, and low-income communities that previously lived there. These populations are most affected by climate change, despite having contributed the least to carbon emissions and having the least access to environmental amenities such as green space.

As Tenaya Taylor’s CT Mirror piece details, Climate change is hardest on CT’s low-income and minority residents , which is leading to outcomes like green gentrification. It is clear that if Connecticut cannot pass policies to address these issues, then relying on grassroots organizing, community ownership, and social justice will be a necessity. Community land trusts may just be the answer.

The book Diversifying Power , written by Jennie C. Stephens , professor of sustainability science and policy at Northeastern University, emphasizes that for too long too many leaders have prioritized corporate profits over the public good, exacerbating climate vulnerabilities while reinforcing economic and racial injustice. Stephens advocates for a just, sustainable society that requires political decision makers and leaders in policy who will connect social justice to climate change.

This is not a far-fetched call to action; in fact, community land trusts are already doing just this. By sowing seeds of hope across the northeast, community land trusts have proliferated. The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston empowers and supports residents to assume leadership roles and act collectively to further development without displacement. The Douglass community land trust in Washington, DC uses community ownership to preserve and expand affordable housing, ensuring current residents can benefit from the investments. The Champlain Housing Trust in Vermont prioritizes increasing access to homeownership as a tool to break cycles of intergenerational poverty, and confront historically racist policies that prevented BIPOC homeownership.

Having interned at the Southeastern Connecticut Community Land Trust this past semester, I saw firsthand how impactful listening to the needs of vulnerable residents is in affirming their place as valuable members of the community.

Grounded in antiracist community practice methods , these organizations uplift just climate solutions by utilizing community governance. Working collaboratively with city council members, community land trusts can create grassroots political buy-in for their local initiatives, allowing their efforts to be sustained and expanded for years to come.

Resilience efforts to prepare for a changing climate may have begun with infrastructure, but they do not end there. Initiatives like community land trusts fight the risk of environmentally resilient infrastructure producing unjust maladaptation to the impacts of climate change.

By leveraging the power of collective action, we can build momentum for structural, transformative change right here at home.

Lucy Koester is a rising junior at Connecticut College, double majoring in Environmental Studies and Sociology.