We are pleased to announce that, among a pool of 600 applicants, the Detroit Justice Center has been selected as one of ten recipients of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Reimagining Land Use & Zoning for Health Equity grant. We will utilize these funds to expand our community land trust (CLT) work and grow the affordable housing sector of our Economic Equity practice. DJC has long argued that community land trusts are an innovative way to create permanent affordable housing in Detroit, and this grant cements that CLTs also combat racial and economic segregation that impacts land use across the country.
DJC will expand equitable land use and affordable housing through CLTs, addressing the structural racism and disinvestment that have led to severe health disparities and housing instability in Detroit. This grant will allow us to establish a CLT lot-purchasing policy; scale pilot CLT housing projects; advocate for policy changes to streamline CLT development; and expand community education and engagement efforts to support long-term housing stability and equity. While some may question the efficacy of CLTs, this sets a precedent that in order to combat many decades of inequity and disinvestment, we must invest in creative solutions.
Our Managing Attorney, Mark Bennett, who heads our community land trust work, said in a statement: “Our partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is transformative in enabling the Detroit Justice Center to advance city and state-level policies that support community-driven land use. We look forward to collaborating with the RWJF team to create scalable impact in addressing the affordable housing needs of Detroiters and beyond.”