• Gemeente Amsterdam Cluster Ruimte en Economie,
• Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsdeelorganisaties,
• AMS Institute

• Ontwerpend,
• Wetenschappelijk,
• Door studenten,
• Met bewoners

• Bouwen & Wonen,
• Duurzaamheid

MSc Thesis Community Land Trust in Amsterdam

By Elvira Kok

Community Land Trust in Amsterdam: : A platform to facilitate the collaboration within CLT Amsterdam and connected CLT associations

The Netherlands is dealing with a housing crisis, which originates from the financial crisis of 2008 (Obbink, 2020). After the financial crisis, the population grew whereas construction declined. The current shortage of houses is around 330.000 (Obbink, 2020), to counter this issue an estimated 1 million new houses need to be built in the coming 10 years (ABF Research, 2019). This graduation project focuses on an initiative to remedy this crisis: a Community Land Trust (CLT) association in the Bijlmer H-neighbourhood. A CLT association is a community-led not-for-profit organisation that creates and manages affordable housing for people with low or modest incomes and develops neighbourhood facilities that benefit the local community. CLT associations are open member organisations that use an alternative development model which includes the interests of residents and the neighbourhood. The ownership and management of the land, homes, and neighbourhood facilities are anchored in the CLT organisation by taking them in joint ownership, as well as establishing conditions that ensure sustainable and social use. The problem statement this thesis focuses on is: How can the CLT association facilitate successful collaboration within workgroups between its members and external experts? The corresponding design statement is the following: Design a platform for CLT members that stimulates a desirable way of working, and includes an approach towards making democratic decisions, in order to empower members and create a flourishing community. To realise this design statement a CLT members platform was designed. This platform focuses on being a communication channel for the association. The platform helps to clarify the structure and purpose of the association, and provides tools that support the community throughout their operation. To create a clear storyline of how this platform will be used in the association, a CLT blueprint was created, displayed in the figure on the right. This blueprint shows the journey of a member within the community, starting with the onboarding process, followed by being an active member, and ending with being part of an empowered community. For the three stages, activities that could occur are described by explaining the various entry points, the process, the outcome, and how this outcome might influence other processes happening in the community. Several tools are proposed that are useful during the before mentioned activities.

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