Mechanisms to Improve Health Through Community Land Trusts

Community land trusts (CLTs) provide long-term affordable housing and offer a range of mechanisms that may improve the health and well-being of low-income households. We sought to elucidate these mechanisms through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with a diverse sample of CLT staff and residents across the USA. Stakeholders most frequently identified improvements in mental health that come through increased housing stability and affordability. Other factors-including the ways that CLTs promote wealth generation, improvements in housing quality and neighborhood amenities, services and partnerships with healthcare organizations, and democratic governance-were raised by respondents though less frequently tied to health benefits. CLTs represent a promising area for future research on housing's impact on health.