Bringing a CLT to the Bayou City: How Houston's political environment shapes community land trust mobilization

Abstract

A community land trust (CLT) is a housing model which promotes the collective ownership of land and ensures long-term affordability. Despite Houston's reputation for putting high value on private land ownership, a citywide community land trust was created in 2018 and has since provided new homeownership opportunities for the city's residents. This research explores how the community land trust model was mobilized within the context of Houston's political environment. To answer this question, I analyzed 81 documents to identify Houston's political environment and gain an understanding of the CLT movement. Additionally, I conducted 4 semi-structured interviews with housing professionals and activists. Data was analyzed using an inductive qualitative coding process to extract key themes. The results reveal that Houston's political environment experienced a key shift during the CLT mobilization period; increased levels of social organizing successfully shaped city policy and spurred greater involvement of communities in local government planning and policy processes. This study demonstrates that alternative housing models can be mobilized in environments that do not initially appear conducive to success.