What is Community Ownership?

Community ownership is an approach to land and property that keeps control, benefit, and decision-making in community hands. It’s about ensuring that the places people live and work remain stable, affordable, and rooted in the local community, not vulnerable to market speculation or profit-driven motives.

Across the U.S., communities are developing creative ways to make this real. Some models focus on affordable housing and resident control; others center on community-led investment in commercial or mixed-use spaces; and others still work behind the scenes to make community ownership possible. Together, they form a growing ecosystem of strategies for long-term community wealth and stability.