Communities in Control: Collective Land Ownership in Louisville

Join the Jefferson County Chapter of KFTC for a discussion of community control and ownership of land in Louisville. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and program begins at 6:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.  

As Metro government ramps up revitalization efforts in the city's urban core it is important to incorporate community members’ visions for their neighborhoods and ensure that communities benefit from development. But what history reveals is that as urban neighborhoods are developed longtime residents are often displaced and never get to enjoy the new amenities and safer streets that come with revitalization. In recent years Louisville's urban communities have stood up and demanded control of the development of their communities.  KFTC hopes to contribute to this conversation about community control by introducing the concept of collective ownership of land through community land trusts.

Attendees will learn more about community land trusts during a screening of the award-winning documentary, Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street.  In 1985 a community of color in Roxbury, MA united to revitalize their community. “The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative went on to gain national recognition as residents fought to close down illegal dumps, gain unprecedented control of land from City Hall and create a comprehensive plan to rebuild the fabric of their community. Through the voices of committed residents, activists and city officials, this moving documentary shows how a Boston neighborhood was able to create and carry out its own agenda for change.”

Members of KFTC’s Jefferson County Economic Justice team will be on hand to talk about their efforts to build a local economic justice campaign focused on community control of land, equitable community development, affordable housing, and participatory budgeting. And attendees will be invited join KFTC,  a 35-year-old grassroots citizens' organization that believes in the power of people, working together, to challenge injustices, right wrongs, and improve the quality of life for all Kentuckians.