Upper Hammonds Plains CLT

The Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust (UHPCLT) launched this Solutions Lab in collaboration with SHS, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Courage Communications to showcase what is possible by creating a new community land trust in their community. UHPCLT aimed to inspire and support some of the other 52 historically African Nova Scotian (ANS) communities in Nova Scotia to take control of their historic settlements and build economic prosperity for their residents. 

Objective

The focus of the lab was to elevate the potential impact of UHPCLT on both the UHP community and the ANS community at large through the exploration of relevant system-level barriers and their related implications for the development of the land trust.

Activities

This Lab followed a co-design process, meaning we adopted a creative and inclusive approach to imagining new possibilities for the Upper Hammonds Plains CLT. Over 80 UHP community members, the UHP CLT Board of Directors, and team members from SHS, Courage Communications, and CMHC participated in the lab. 

The Lab activities included:

•   Hosting in-person and virtual community co-creation events
•   Establishing a set of core values for the land trust and implications for the land trust’s governance model, membership criteria, and use of land
•   Developing a culturally relevant prototype membership decision-making framework
•   Investigating potential pathways to accessing and developing lands for the CLT