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Sunflowers growing in the foreground of Near North camp, with a sided self-build building, several recreational vehicles, and a standalone wood-sided enclosed shower stall building before bits of the skyline of Minneapolis and a deep blue and white clouds sky.
September 2, 2023

Our plan for housing people as quickly and affordably as possible

Encampments have proven people can house themselves quickly and inexpensively.  Now to make it legal and stable, better and more beautiful, and all that unhoused people have dreamt of.  Starting more modestly, our plan includes private, individual housing units under the control of the person or people living in each; shared community building for socializing, cooking, bathrooms, and showers; people living on the land make all the key decisions about their community; and common outdoor green space, including garden and trees.

Land

About our namesake, W. Gertrude Brown

W. Gertrude Brown was the first director of the Phyllis Wheatley House, which opened in 1924 as the first settlement house to serve Black people in Minneapolis.  A Black woman from Dayton, Ohio, who 

October 31, 2023

We, the unhoused

We, the unhoused

November 4, 2023

The real state of homelessness in the city

Minneapolis's response to homelessness is cruel, unethical, and ineffective. 

A golden, cursive S R in a circle on a black background.

Shenoah Reed Foundation

Shenoah Reed Foundation, serving the Twin Cities, was created by and for people who have experienced economic hardship.  Its services include housing stabilization, public benefit application assistance, peer advocacy services, legal support, and mediation / alternative dispute resolution.

Local material support
Legal services

Heat pumps

Communal living, intentional community cluster development or "tiny home village" style, makes the possibility of far more efficient district heating.

Heat pumps are far more efficient than generating heat by burning oil or gas fuels or running electric heaters.

District heating for the housing provided by Gertrude Brown Community Land Trust could make the installation of a heat pump cost effective, in addition to being life saving and combating climate change.

Knowledge
A triptych of three photographs showing small houses of different kinds. The first photograhp has five micro peaked roof houses in a row receding into a background with hills, a doghouse in front and a house being built in the back. The second has seven small houses with gently sloped roofs and various colors along a lanterned path, with a pond in the foreground. The third shows four shipping container based houses along a splitting gravel path.
November 10, 2023

Intentional Community Cluster Developments as conceived by Minneapolis

On 2018 December 7 councilmembers Cam Gordon, Jeremy Schroeder, and Jeremiah Ellison introduced an ordinance to the Minneapolis City Council to amend regulations related to intentional community cluster developments. The amendment allowed a configuration of small dwelling units or rooming units and a common house on a lot. The noted intent is to provide an affordable housing option for residents who are unhoused or housing unstable.

Department of Community Planning and Economic Development staff prepared a report for the City Planning Commission and presented it on 2019 October 21 supporting the implementation of intentional community cluster developments.

Land

COVID-19 detection & prevention

A communal space with kitchen, baths, and a "living room" area is a key part of our plan for housing people affordably.  For this space to be as safe as it can be, we need affordable ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.  This resource gathers some tools we may be able to adopt.

Knowledge
Health
A huge billboard on an empty piece of land with buildings on either side reads: "EVERYBODY WORKS BUT THE VACANT LOT" I paid $3600. for this lot and will hold it ‘till I get $6000. The profit is unearned increment made possible by the presence of this community and the enterprise of its people. I take the profit without earning it. For the remedy read ”HENRY GEORGE” Yours truly Fay Lewis

Land Value Tax

Eliminate economic rent—unearned revenue from having the monopoly on any piece (or many pieces) of land—and probably end houselessness, too, if paired with a resident's dividend, by taxing 100% of the annualized value of land that comes from surrounding community improvements (but do not tax the part of the value that comes from improvements made on the land).

Knowledge
Land

Defend Camp Nenookaasi

Nenookaasi is a communal space where people have food, first aid, community care, recovery meetings, and temporary shelter.  The city is threatening to evict the camp by December 6th.

Reach out to the camp organizers or to us at GBCLT to get involved.

Encampments