Praxis Thesis

This project examines resident engagement in Community Land Trusts, focusing on conceptions and experiences of care, community, and community control. The site of study is Worcester Common Ground, a Community Land Trust in Worcester, MA, provisioning affordable housing and serving the Greater Piedmont Area since 1988. I frame Worcester Common Ground as an infrastructure of care, and look to see how residents experience engagement, how they wish to engage with Worcester Common Ground, and how they conceptualize and experience living in a Community Land Trust. This project was done collaboratively with research partners who are staff members at Worcester Common Ground. Through discussion with staff and surveying residents, I identify barriers to engagement, as well as conceptions of community, community control, and care. I proceed to address these findings through recommendations and areas of future research.