🏠 Housing & Shelter
How we create dignified, affordable places to live
The Problem
Housing has become a speculative asset class. In cities worldwide, homes sit empty as investments while people sleep on streets. Construction is dominated by a few corporations using proprietary methods. Rents consume half of many people's income. The connection between shelter and community has been severed.
The Alternative
Community Land Trusts for Housing
Land is held in trust so homes remain permanently affordable. Residents own their buildings but not the land beneath, preventing speculation and keeping housing within reach of future generations.
Co-Housing & Cooperative Living
Intentional communities where residents share common spaces — kitchens, workshops, gardens — while maintaining private units. Decisions made collectively. Costs shared. Isolation reduced.
Open-Source Architecture
Building plans, material specifications, and construction techniques shared freely. WikiHouse, OpenStructures, and earthship designs anyone can adapt to local conditions and materials.
Dignified Shelter for All
Housing-first approaches to homelessness. Tiny house villages, adaptive reuse of empty buildings, and community-built emergency shelter. No one left outside.
Start Here
- ✓Learn about housing cooperatives in your area
- ✓Support community land trust initiatives
- ✓Explore open-source building plans for local conditions
- ✓Advocate for housing-first policies in your community
- ✓Join or start a tool-sharing library for home repair
Already Happening
Champlain Housing Trust
Burlington, Vermont, USA · Est. 1984
The largest community land trust in the US, managing ~565 ownership units and over 2,200 rental units. Keeps homes permanently affordable by retaining community ownership of the land beneath them.
Mietshäuser Syndikat
Freiburg, Germany (nationwide) · Est. 1992
A cooperative network of 191 collectively owned housing projects permanently removed from the speculative market. Each project is co-owned by residents and the Syndikat, which holds veto power over privatization.
FUCVAM
Montevideo, Uruguay · Est. 1970
Latin America's oldest mutual-aid housing cooperative federation — over 500 cooperatives and ~100,000 people. Members collectively build their own homes through organized mutual labor under collective ownership.
London Community Land Trust
London, United Kingdom · Est. 2007
London's first CLT, delivering permanently affordable homes with resale prices linked to local earnings rather than market rates — proving the model works even in the world's most expensive markets.
WikiHouse
London, United Kingdom (global chapters) · Est. 2011
An open-source construction system where anyone can download, customize, and digitally fabricate structural house components using a CNC router and plywood. Deployed from Brazilian favelas to UK suburbs.
New Story
Atlanta, USA (Haiti, Mexico, El Salvador, Bolivia) · Est. 2014
Provides dignified housing in the Global South, having housed over 15,200 people. Built the world's first 3D-printed housing community in Mexico, where homes cost ~$4,000 and print in 24 hours.
CODI Baan Mankong Programme
Bangkok, Thailand (nationwide) · Est. 2003
A community-driven slum upgrading programme channeling subsidies and loans directly to organized community groups. Has reached over 96,000 households in 1,800 communities across Thailand.
R50 Baugruppen
Berlin, Germany · Est. 2013
A recognized example of Berlin's Baugruppen movement where future residents collectively commission their own building, eliminating developer profits and reducing costs 10-20% below market rate.
Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña
San Juan, Puerto Rico · Est. 2004
A community land trust securing tenure for ~2,000 families in informal settlements. Governed by a resident-majority council — designed for consolidated settlements rather than new development.
Dudley Neighbors Inc.
Boston, Massachusetts, USA · Est. 1988
A CLT stewarding 30+ acres with 226 affordable homes. The only CLT in the US ever granted eminent domain authority, enabling it to acquire vacant land for community benefit.
Sostre Cívic
Barcelona, Spain · Est. 2004
An umbrella cooperative promoting right-of-use housing where the co-op retains ownership and members hold indefinite use rights. 1,500+ members, 28 projects, with social inclusion mandates.
Kalkbreite Cooperative
Zurich, Switzerland · Est. 2007
A mixed-use housing cooperative built atop a tram depot — 97 apartments plus commercial and community spaces. Residents commit to car-free living and capped per-person space.
Sargfabrik
Vienna, Austria · Est. 1996
112-unit integrative housing project on a former coffin factory. Shared bathhouse, cultural center, kindergarten, restaurant, and roof garden, with units for sheltered housing and special needs.
Muungano wa Wanavijiji
Nairobi, Kenya · Est. 1996
Kenyan federation of slum dwellers with ~100,000 members in 1,000 groups across 14 counties. Supports community-led land tenure, savings schemes, and settlement upgrading.
Minsnail Housing Co-op
Seoul, South Korea · Est. 2014
Youth-led housing cooperative providing homes for 200+ young adults across Seoul at ~60% of market rent. 15 shared houses with solar panels and car-sharing programs.