Created Equal: Can collective land ownership help fix affordable housing in Detroit?
David Leins October 10, 2024Detroit residents are using community-owned land as a strategy to prevent gentrification and lower the costs of home ownership.
Detroit residents are burdened by the cost of living in the city.
A majority of Detroiters spend 30% of their pre-tax income on housing. And while the city is working to increase affordable housing in Detroit, residents are trying an approach that they say keeps prices low and gives them more say in how their communities develop.
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Neighborhoods across Detroit are starting community land trusts, a nonprofit organization run by community members that owns property in the area. Jerry Hebron is the executive director of Detroit Cultivator Community Land Trust in the North End neighborhood.
Hebron’s organization is one of five groups partnering with the nonprofit law firm Detroit Justice Center to establish community land trusts. Hebron and Mark Bennett, a staff attorney at the firm, join Created Equal on Thursday to explain how community land trusts work and what they might do for Detroiters.
Guests:
- Jerry Hebron is the executive director of Detroit Cultivator Community Land Trust.
- Mark Bennett is a staff attorney at the Detroit Justice Center.
Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
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Author
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David Leins is a Podcast Coordinator and Producer at WDET. He also oversees the StoryMakers program. When he isn't making radio and podcasts, David is probably on a hike somewhere marveling at the trees.