Policy options to mitigate the impacts of green gentrification when constructing new bike paths in the Madison area

To address changing climate patterns, cities in the US are expanding sustainable transportation options and implementing green infrastructure. Sustainable infrastructure projects help communities adapt, decrease CO2 emissions, promote community health, and provide economic benefits. These projects can also have unintended consequences, increasing gentrification and displacement of vulnerable communities through increased property values (i.e., green gentrification). The City of Madison maintains an extensive system of bike trails and continues to expand community access, with three projects recently completed or in development. We recommend that the City of Madison alter policy to use tax-increment financing or community land trusts as a preventative measure to mitigate green gentrification of nearby areas for all current and future bike path construction projects.

Land Law

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. The fifth edition of Land Law: Text, Cases, and Materials covers all core aspects of land law, including the nature of land and of property rights, registration, human rights, legal estates, legal interests, equitable interests, acquisition of interests in land, trusts of land, the priority of interests in land, co-ownership and interests in the home, leases, easements, covenants, commonhold, and security interests in land. The book provides students with the detailed knowledge and analytical tools required to understand and engage fully with the current topical debates surrounding the subject, including recent reform proposals. The book comprises of eight parts and it looks at the content question, the acquisition question, and priority and the defences question. It also covers different contexts, such as the shared home and neighbours and neighbourhoods.

2. Important Principles of Land Law

Land Law is an important foundation for the study of Property Law and Practice (PLP). This chapter summarizes the fundamental principles of land law. It covers estates and interests in land; trusts and co-ownership; easements; freehold covenants; leases; mortgages; and third party rights, overriding interests, and the register and classes of title.

Investing in community: community land trusts and affordable housing in Calgary

The cost of affordable rental units in Calgary is amongst the highest in Canada, despite a rental vacancy rate that is 3 percent higher than the national average (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2017). Nearly 1 in 5 Calgary households are struggling to pay for shelter costs and as of 2016, more than 42,000 households were spending more than 50 percent of their incomes on shelter, putting this population at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to job loss or from some other unexpected financial hardship (City of Calgary, 2017). Counter to popular belief, economically depressed communities with weak rental and housing markets such as Calgary following the 2015 collapse of the oil and gas sector can be subject to a critical lack of affordable housing. A soft housing market cannot make up for an insufficient range of affordable and non-market housing options. In other cities facing similar challenges, especially those in the United States, the formation of Community Land Trusts has proven to be a viable solution for providing both affordable rental and affordable ownership opportunities for residents who are struggling to afford the cost of housing in their area. This paper explores whether the Community Land Trust model is an appropriate tool to augment Calgary’s limited supply of affordable housing and will end with five recommendations to encourage the adoption of the Community Land Trust model in Calgary. Key Words: affordable housing, affordable ownership, Calgary, community land trust, small-scale affordable development.

The ‘community' in community land trusts: the role of community control in pursuing community land trust activism

Housing in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is increasingly unaffordable due to rising housing costs. Community land trusts (CLTs) have recently emerged as a tool for providing affordable housing in the GTHA. This paper investigated the form that CLTs should take to ensure its long-term success for providing affordable housing. Through an analysis of academic and grey literature, the element of community control was identified as being a critical success factor. This paper explored four CLTs operating in American and European contexts to understand whether and how community control was manifested and the resulting implications it had on the CLT and residents. The findings of the paper confirm the importance of community control in the long-term functioning of CLTs, and that community control can be manifested in various forms. Planners operating in the GTHA must therefore be mindful of ensuring that community control is expressed in CLTs. Keywords: Community land trust; affordable housing; community control; Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

Investing in community: community land trusts and affordable housing in Calgary

The cost of affordable rental units in Calgary is amongst the highest in Canada, despite a rental vacancy rate that is 3 percent higher than the national average (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2017). Nearly 1 in 5 Calgary households are struggling to pay for shelter costs and as of 2016, more than 42,000 households were spending more than 50 percent of their incomes on shelter, putting this population at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to job loss or from some other unexpected financial hardship (City of Calgary, 2017). Counter to popular belief, economically depressed communities with weak rental and housing markets such as Calgary following the 2015 collapse of the oil and gas sector can be subject to a critical lack of affordable housing. A soft housing market cannot make up for an insufficient range of affordable and non-market housing options. In other cities facing similar challenges, especially those in the United States, the formation of Community Land Trusts has proven to be a viable solution for providing both affordable rental and affordable ownership opportunities for residents who are struggling to afford the cost of housing in their area. This paper explores whether the Community Land Trust model is an appropriate tool to augment Calgary’s limited supply of affordable housing and will end with five recommendations to encourage the adoption of the Community Land Trust model in Calgary. Key Words: affordable housing, affordable ownership, Calgary, community land trust, small-scale affordable development.

Generating Community Benefit From New Development: What’s in it for Parkdale?

Rapidly rising property values and shifts in living patterns have led to housing affordability pressures and gentrification in the Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale. As a result, community groups are looking to find ways to preserve housing affordability through the creation of new housing units. This paper analyses policy tools that could potentially be used to generate affordable housing from new development. An understanding of current conditions was established and potential policy tools were identified. These include: inclusionary zoning, density benefit agreements, community benefit agreements, and community land trusts. A jurisdictional scan identified common themes and best practices for implementation of these policy tools. Interviews with key informants built upon this basis and provided insight into the applicability of these tools to Toronto. Recommendations were developed to assist community groups in responding to the implementation of these policies and to direct advocacy for further policy changes.

The ‘community' in community land trusts: the role of community control in pursuing community land trust activism

Housing in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is increasingly unaffordable due to rising housing costs. Community land trusts (CLTs) have recently emerged as a tool for providing affordable housing in the GTHA. This paper investigated the form that CLTs should take to ensure its long-term success for providing affordable housing. Through an analysis of academic and grey literature, the element of community control was identified as being a critical success factor. This paper explored four CLTs operating in American and European contexts to understand whether and how community control was manifested and the resulting implications it had on the CLT and residents. The findings of the paper confirm the importance of community control in the long-term functioning of CLTs, and that community control can be manifested in various forms. Planners operating in the GTHA must therefore be mindful of ensuring that community control is expressed in CLTs. Keywords: Community land trust; affordable housing; community control; Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area