Elisabeth Echlin
Research Mentor: Alisa Perkins
Mentor Department: Dream of Detroit, Not Available
Author(s): Mia Echlin, Alisa Perkins
Session: Session 2 (10:00 AM – 10:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 49
Abstract
This study examines the development, considerations, and practices of a Community Land Trust model (CLT) in its process of being implemented by the Detroit based non-profit, Dream of Detroit (DREAM), as well as how it addresses racially discriminatory housing policies, injustices, and reparations for Low-Income Detroiters. The completed research evaluates the potential of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) as a long-term, community-controlled solution to gentrification, displacement, and escalating housing costs in Detroit. Using historical analysis, literature review, and qualitative inquiry, the project traces the foundations and evolution of CLTs while identifying how DREAM has developed their own adjacent CLT model to ensure community revitalization and wellness. Data were gathered through an extensive review of CLT theoretical beginnings, archival materials on Detroit’s housing history, attendance of Detroit-based community events, and interviews with CLT residents. Findings outline governance structures essential for a CLT development that is equitable, and identify strategies for ensuring long-term affordability and community accountability. The project concludes with the creation of an ethnographic examination of DREAM’s approach to combating the Detroit housing crisis. This work demonstrates that, amid ongoing urban housing crises, CLTs offer a viable and reparative framework for advancing housing justice and stabilizing historically marginalized communities.
