This report shows how community wealth building uniquely meets the crises of our time and how this model is already reshaping cities and communities across the globe, including a landmark opportunity in Chicago.

Cooperative movements and new economy advocates must pivot in a new direction that blends place and the democratic economy into a holistic solution that sustains and preserves community over the individual. Ironically, this “new direction” isn’t new.

This paper looks at the current state of the US land and housing system, focusing on long-term trends around inequality, inaccessibility, and displacement, as well as the realized and potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It then briefly reviews various mainstream, market-based “solutions” to the crisis and why they are largely insufficient and provides a conclusion introducing possible solutions and models to affect change.

After a year of chaos and turmoil related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its social, economic, and political effects, we find ourselves faced with the question of what comes next. Down one path lies the notion of returning to business as usual, which in truth is a dangerous and impossible fantasy. There is another path, one that leads to a political economic system that might enable us all to live well and to do so within planetary boundaries. In embryo, this alternative already exists.

Creating climate-resilient cities takes more than a series of infrastructure investments; more than sea walls and permeable pavement. It takes investment in people. Those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are those without living wages or access to political power—very often communities of color. As the seas continue to rise, climate resiliency strategies need to not only build the infrastructure but also tackle the underlying reasons why those who bear the disproportionate burden of climate change are those with the least ability to recover.

With meaningful public investment & support, community land trusts can help redefine affordable housing, strengthening a culture and practice of ownership among historically marginalized communities.