The Burlington community land trust: A socialist approach to affordable housing?

Shortly after Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, Bernard Sanders, a socialist, became mayor of Burlington, Vermont. The Burlington Community Land Trust (BCLT), one of many policy initiatives under the Sanders administration, is a nonprofit corporation which makes housing affordable for low and moderate income people. This article gives a brief history of the evolution of the community land trust model and a detailed analysis of the operation of the BCLT.