A community land trust named after Ruchell "Cinqué" Magee, considered by many to have been the longest-held political prisoner in the United States, aims to create not just affordability, but belonging. Frances Nguyen, Shelterforce's housing fellow, reports.

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A community land trust took on a difficult site in suburban Seattle—and ended up with a sustainable, diverse, mixed-ownership-form development that challenges multiple norms. Brandon Duong reports for Shelterforce.

Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/17/mixed-income-net-zero-and-fish-friendly-innovation-at-the-southard/

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Through its bequests and aging in place program, financial education offerings, and more, Artist Space Trust works to stabilize Bay Area artists in their communities. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute chats with one of the trust's founders and its executive director about where the group came from, what makes a housing group for artists different, and the legacy of elders in the arts community they are preserving.

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It’s getting tougher for immigrant communities to believe they still have rights as renters—even if they are living in the country legally. Here’s how tenant organizers are helping these communities push back against ICE and the landlords who are weaponizing the current political environment. Frances Nguyen, Shelterforce's housing fellow, reports.

Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/05/for-immigrant-households-fear-of-arrest-and-deportation-erodes-tenants-rights/

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Stan Chisholm found housing stability through a local nonprofit that helps artists buy their first homes. Frank Navarrete reads his latest story for Shelterforce.

Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/08/in-st-louis-artist-housing-opens-up-homeownership-opportunities/

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While affordable housing with some office space for nonprofits is relatively common, in Redmond, Washington, a group of human services organizations went the other way: they rebuilt their collective office space and added housing. Kim Sarnecki, the CEO of the Together Center, explains how it all works.

Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/10/nonprofits-own-these-offices-and-put-housing-on-top-of-them/

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Enabled by provisions in the JOBS Act of 2012 that allow smaller scale investing, community members are becoming co-owners of local real estate projects. Sandra Larson reports for Shelterforce.

Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/09/crowdfunded-real-estate-projects-bring-in-community-investors/

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Creative problem solving is pushing community ownership models forward. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute explains what you can expect in our new Under the Lens series, Innovations in Community Ownership.

Read Miriam's editor's note at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/09/more-land-more-ways-for-more-people-whats-new-in-community-ownership/

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President Trump has floated cutting Community Development Block Grants entirely from the federal budget, which Congress has so far declined to do. How do these grants get used at the local level? Frank Navarrete reads his latest story for Shelterforce, "What Does CDBG Do?"

Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/29/what-does-cdbg-do/

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Local politics seem to be shifting in the Garden State. More towns have submitted plans to show how they will provide their ‘fair share’ of affordable housing than in the past, and the state has a new way to work with municipalities that push back against their housing obligations. Reporting by Roshan Abraham. Read by John Ludas.

Check out the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/22/fifty-years-after-mount-laurel-is-affordable-housing-finally-gaining-ground-in-new-jersey/

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