Resource Library · Research
Companion resources for readers of A Community Land Trust Digest: Legal and Social Commentaries
Further reading, model legal documents and selected book chapters for attorneys and law students working with community land trusts in the United States. The book is a joint publication of Terra Nostra Press and the American Bar Association.
On this page: Articles · Technical Manual · Agricultural land · Lincoln Institute · On Common Ground
Further reading: articles by legal scholars
There were a number of journal articles we would have liked to include in A Community Land Trust Digest but could not, for reasons of space. Here are some additional worthwhile articles.
- Barbara L. Bezdek. 2020. “To have and to hold? Community land trust as commons.” In The Cambridge Handbook on Innovations in Commons Research. Sheila Foster and Chrystie Swiney (eds). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Andrew Decker. 2018. “Community Land Trusts and State Legislation: A Model Act to Enable This Affordable Housing Tool.” Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development 26: 489-515.
- James Meehan. 2014. “Reinventing Real Estate: The Community Land Trust as a Social Invention in Affordable Housing.” Journal of Applied Social Science 8 (2): 113-133.
- James DeFilippis, Brian Stromberg, and Olivia R. Williams. 2018. “W(h)ither the Community in Community Land Trusts?” Journal of Urban Affairs 40 (6): 755-769.
- Sydni Scott. 2021. “Community Land Trusts: A Case for an Expansive View of Reparations for Black Americans.” NYU American Public Policy Review, June.
Community Land Trust Technical Manual
Published by the National CLT Network (now Grounded Solutions Network) in 2011, the Technical Manual is still the definitive legal guide to CLT practice. These essential chapters will get you started.
CLT Bylaws Considerations
PDF, 146 KB
Model Classic Bylaws
PDF, 190 KB
Model Classic Bylaws Commentary
PDF, 176 KB
Legal Issues re CLT Ownership
PDF, 127 KB
Model Ground Lease
PDF, 353 KB
Model Ground Lease Commentary
PDF, 291 KB
Resale Formula Design
PDF, 251 KB
Model documents for agricultural land
Equity Trust has developed excellent resources on community stewardship of agricultural land, including these model documents for ground leasing and agricultural easements.
Model Agricultural Ground Lease
Equity Trust · lease and commentary (PDF)
Model Agricultural Conservation Easement with Option to Purchase
Equity Trust · easement and commentary (PDF)
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
The Lincoln Institute has been a close partner to the CLT movement in the United States and abroad for over 20 years. These publications will be of particular interest to CLT attorneys.
Preserving Affordable Homeownership (2024)
An excellent introduction to housing applications of CLTs in the United States. A great place to start.
The Community Land Trust Reader (2010)
Edited by John Emmeus Davis, this compendium brings together the seminal and historical texts that inspired and defined the CLT. Chapter: “Origins and Evolution of the Community Land Trust in the United States.”
PDF, 724 KB
Chapters from On Common Ground
Terra Nostra Press is the CLT Center’s publishing imprint, focused exclusively on CLT-related content. On Common Ground updates The Community Land Trust Reader and extends its reach internationally, highlighting innovative work by CLTs in the US and abroad.
These chapters will be of particular interest to attorneys new to working with CLTs.
Chapter 3. Common Ground: Community-Owned Land as a Platform for Equitable and Sustainable Development
John Emmeus Davis · PDF, 2.9 MB
Chapter 11. Seeding the CLT in Latin America and the Caribbean: Origins, Achievements, and the Proof-of-Concept Example of the Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust
María E. Hernández Torrales, Lyvia Rodríguez Del Valle, Line Algoed and Karla Torres Sueiro · PDF, 5.8 MB
Chapter 16. Take a Stand, Own the Land: Dudley Neighbors Inc., a Community Land Trust in Boston, Massachusetts
Harry Smith and Tony Hernandez · PDF, 4.4 MB
Chapter 18. The Best Things in Life Are Perpetually Affordable: Profile of the Champlain Housing Trust, Burlington, Vermont
Brenda M. Torpy · PDF, 5.1 MB
Chapter 19. Stewardship of Urban Real Estate for Long-Term Community Benefit: Profile of the Urban Land Conservancy in Denver, Colorado
Alan Gottlieb and Aaron Miripol · PDF, 4.9 MB
About the book
Learn more about A Community Land Trust Digest and our other joint publications.