The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, which researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges, recently released a video and also a case study that highlights how Champlain Housing Trust got started and the crucial role and timing that affordable housing strategies, community leadership and engagement, and innovative policies in Burlington during the 1980s and 90s created a model of permanent affordability that has stood the test of time.
The video features CHT residents alongside innovative projects and policies created to revitalize housing stock that had been abandoned and left in disrepair in Burlington’s Old North End even as the cost of living and demand for housing was on the rise. CHT’s work continues to address affordable housing needs and though our efforts are far from over, it has been heartening to look back and reflect on what we have accomplished during our nearly 40-year history. Many neighbors featured in this video are still working in partnership with CHT to create safe, and permanently affordable housing and more inclusive thriving communities throughout Vermont and also across the country.