THE LOPEZ COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
REGENERATIVE QUALITIES OF THE LOPEZ ISLAND COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
Honors Community & Place / Empowered Participation / In Right Relationship
Honors Community & Place / Empowered Participation / In Right Relationship
The San Juan Islands are a richly biodiverse archipelago located off the coast of Washington State. Bald eagles nest in the tall Douglas firs of their dry forests and orca whales populate their coastal waters. However, life is often less than idyllic for many full-time island residents who provide the essential goods and services that keep the local economies humming. As the charms of the islands have become more widely appreciated over the past quarter century, housing prices have skyrocketed, and those for whom home ownership is out of reach are often forced to vacate their dwellings in the high season to make way for affluent vacationers.
Each of San Juan’s most populous islands—San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez—have attempted to address the challenge of affordable housing for these residents by establishing community land trusts. Here we tell the story of one of these, the Lopez Community Land Trust, founded by two systems thinkers who have catalyzed the emergence of a unique cooperative housing development that has awakened both the entrepreneurial spirit of its residents as well as their profound commitment to land stewardship.
Each of San Juan’s most populous islands—San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez—have attempted to address the challenge of affordable housing for these residents by establishing community land trusts. Here we tell the story of one of these, the Lopez Community Land Trust, founded by two systems thinkers who have catalyzed the emergence of a unique cooperative housing development that has awakened both the entrepreneurial spirit of its residents as well as their profound commitment to land stewardship.
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"Iceberg Point Lopez Island Washington USA". Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iceberg_Point_Lopez_Island_Washington_USA.jpeg#mediaviewer/File:Iceberg_Point_Lopez_Island_Washington_USA.jpeg
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