{"id":83411,"date":"2026-05-25T16:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T19:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=83411"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:42:07","slug":"as-the-world-cup-kicks-off-across-north-america-communities-in-host-cities-are-pushing-back-against-rising-rents-with-a-tool-born-in-the-civil-rights-movement-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=83411","title":{"rendered":"As the World Cup Kicks Off Across North America, Communities in Host Cities Are Pushing Back Against Rising Rents\u2014With a Tool Born in the Civil Rights Movement [RELEASE]"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Global<\/a>
Global CLT Map showing 627 Community Land Trusts worldwide on November 24, 2024. Source: International Center for Community Land Trusts via Google My Maps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article is part of our series reflecting on the impacts of mega-events on Rio de Janeiro\u00a010 years after the 2016 Olympic Games<\/a>, republished with permission and in collaboration with the International Center for Community Land Trusts<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

From LA to Toronto, Community Land Trusts in World Cup<\/a> host cities are protecting neighborhoods from real estate speculation. The month before FIFA 2026 kicks off, they\u2019re asking: who benefits from this tournament?<\/em><\/p>\n

May 26, 2026 \u2014 Weeks before the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> kicks off across 16 North American cities, something predictable is happening in the host communities: rents are climbing, investors are circling and longtime residents are watching their neighborhoods get repriced for someone else\u2019s celebration.<\/p>\n

Hotel rates are projected to spike by as much as 300%<\/a> around opening matches. Airbnb nightly rates in some host city neighborhoods are topping US$6,000. An estimated 6.5 million visitors are expected<\/a> across North America over the six-week tournament\u2014a windfall for property speculators and a stark warning for everyone else.<\/p>\n

But in city after city on the host list, communities aren\u2019t just watching. From Los Angeles to Toronto, Community Land Trusts in World Cup host cities are showing what it looks like when neighborhoods take the land question off the table entirely\u2014permanently and collectively.<\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a>
2026 FIFA World Cup host cities across North America where an estimated 6.5 million visitors are expected to visit over the six-week tournament. Source: Map by Babelia via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What Is a Community Land Trust?<\/h3>\n

A Community Land Trust (CLT<\/a>) is a not-for-profit, community-governed organization that acquires land and holds it in trust\u2014permanently. Homes on that land can be bought and sold, but the land beneath them stays in community hands, keeping homes affordable through long-term ground leases. The result is no investment surge, no speculative buyout, no displacement. The model was born in 1969 out of the US Civil Rights Movement by New Communities, Inc.<\/a> in Albany, Georgia\u2014a single organization, founded by Black farmers and organizers, that needed land no one could take away. Today, there are over 600 CLTs operating across the globe, according to the International Center for Community Land Trusts\u2019 Global CLT Map and Directory<\/a>. The four organizations featured in this release are among them: each rooted in a World Cup host city, each doing this work long before the cameras arrived.<\/p>\n

Houston: Houston Community Land Trust<\/h3>\n

Houston’s relationship with the World Cup has been complicated from the start. While the city embraced the tournament with genuine enthusiasm\u2014soccer is deeply woven into Houston’s culture and their home team the Dynamo have a passionate local following\u2014the reality of hosting is now coming into focus. Public and philanthropic dollars have flowed toward major infrastructure and commercial development in preparation for the games, but much of that investment is concentrated in areas where gentrification and displacement were already underway. For Houston’s most vulnerable residents, who are already cost-burdened by housing, those developments will contribute to rising costs long after the final whistle blows. Meanwhile, many low-income homeowners who had hoped to benefit financially by renting their homes during the tournament found themselves unable to manage the cost and complexity of listing their homes, leaving the windfall largely to investors.<\/p>\n

\u201cHouston Community Land Trust<\/a> homeowners are in a good position. Their home costs are stabilized, so they’re fairly protected against displacement from World Cup-driven development. But a single home or homeowner does not make a community. If others are at risk of being pushed out of their neighborhood for a short-term event, we have to ask: is it really worth it for anyone?\u201d \u2014 Ashley Allen, Executive Director, Houston Community Land Trust<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"While<\/a>
While Houston CLT homeowners are protected, many of the city\u2019s most vulnerable residents fear that public and philanthropic investments tied to the World Cup may leave their neighborhoods increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, NRG Stadium has received US$55 million in investments, a fraction of the nearly US$2 billion expected to be spent over the next 30 years. Photo montage: Houston CLT and NRG Stadium photo by WhisperToMe via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Los Angeles: LA Community Land Trust Coalition<\/h3>\n

Communities across Los Angeles neighborhoods, long-shaped by redlining, disinvestment and exclusion, are now on the frontlines of displacement driven by speculation tied to the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. For decades, Community Land Trusts in LA have worked to acquire land, develop permanently affordable housing and protect tenants from displacement, anchoring community stability in places like South LA, Boyle Heights and beyond. In response to intensifying market pressures that have pushed rents and homeownership out of reach for many Angelenos, the coalition is building a broader social housing and community ownership ecosystem rooted in collective stewardship and long-term affordability. Following the recent wildfires, they have also advanced policies to curb speculative buying during recovery, including advocating for TOPA\/COPA<\/a>, a public land bank and restrictions on corporate home purchases to keep land in community hands. These efforts reflect a proactive strategy to ensure that disaster recovery and global investment do not come at the expense of the very communities that have sustained Los Angeles through generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cPermanent affordability means that no matter how many mega-events come to Los Angeles, our communities are not pushed out to make way for profit\u2014it means residents can stay, build and pass on stability, even as global investment reshapes our city.\u201d\u00a0 \u2014 LA CLT Coalition<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Aerial<\/a>
Aerial view of SoFi Stadium under construction in 2017. Located in Inglewood, an average-income suburb of Los Angeles, US$5.5 billion SoFi Stadium is the most expensive stadium ever built. It will host World Cup matches as well as the opening and swimming events of the 2028 Olympics. Photo: Column-sitter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto: Kensington Market Community Land Trust<\/h3>\n

Toronto is among the most unaffordable housing markets in North America, and the arrival of the World Cup has accelerated short-term rental speculation in neighborhoods already under severe pressure\u2014like Kensington Market, an eclectic, mixed neighborhood that has long been a landing place for new immigrants. A vibrant community of renters, an entrepreneurship incubator, a destination for creatives and tourists, Kensington Market is exactly the kind of place that speculation threatens to hollow out. In the midst of ever-increasing displacement of working-class tenants, Kensington Market Community Land Trust<\/a> is giving residents and small businesses an anchor: the CLT collectively owns three mixed-use buildings with 40 residential and 17 commercial rental spaces, and is currently constructing 78 units of deeply affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cKMCLT has fought against unregulated ghost hotels for years. A special place like Kensington Market is a delicate balance between destination and community. While unregulated short-term rentals and mega-events threaten to tip the balance, KMCLT stands firm for community.\u201d \u2014 Dominique Russell, Co-Director, Kensington Market Community Land Trust<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"54\u201356<\/a>
54\/56 Kensington Ave, one of Kensington Market Community Land Trust\u2019s buildings, includes affordable housing and commercial spaces in one of Toronto\u2019s neighborhoods most vulnerable to displacement pressures. Restored in 2025 by Peter Matyas<\/a>, its original artist, the iconic Mona Lisa mural carries a renewed message: this building is community-owned. Photo: Kensington Market Community Land Trust website reproduction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vancouver: Hogan\u2019s Alley Society<\/h3>\n

Hogan\u2019s Alley Society<\/a> is a dynamic, Black-led nonprofit named after Vancouver\u2019s first Black neighborhood, \u201cHogan\u2019s Alley\u201d\u2014which was destroyed in the 1970s through urban renewal and the construction of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts. HAS leads efforts to advance the well-being of people of African descent through inclusive housing, culturally informed programming and community-driven development\u2014guided by a heart-centered commitment to reviving Hogan\u2019s Alley and connecting with other communities working toward collective justice.<\/p>\n

While the Hogan\u2019s Alley Block remains its flagship project, HAS is expanding this work through the Hogan\u2019s Alley Society Community Land Trust (HASCLT<\/a>), an initiative focused on creating culturally-rooted housing and community spaces with long-term affordability across Metro Vancouver. Through public education, walking tours and community care initiatives such as its housing support program, HAS works to ensure Black communities have a lasting place within the city’s future. In a city where strict short-term rental regulations<\/a> have already pushed accommodation prices sharply upward ahead of the World Cup\u2014compounding a housing affordability crisis years in the making\u2014these efforts have never been more urgent.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt HAS, efforts against further displacement go far beyond fighting the loss of physical structures alone. When communities are pushed out, we lose gathering places, relationships, cultural memory and the social fabric that allows people to feel rooted and supported. In a city like Vancouver, especially in moments of rapid development tied to global events like the World Cup, community land stewardship is essential because it creates pathways for communities to remain present, connected and self-determined for generations to come. The Hogan’s Alley Society Community Land Trust is one way we move from temporary survival towards building long-term belonging.\u201d \u2014 Djaka Blais, Hogan’s Alley Society, Vancouver<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"BC<\/a>
BC Place is undergoing US$181 million in taxpayer-funded renovations to prepare for hosting seven World Cup matches in a city struggling to provide affordable housing<\/a> for its own residents, let alone accommodate the estimated 350,000 visitors expected during the event. The investment thus raises broader questions about the costs and priorities of hosting mega-events such as the World Cup. Photo: Christoph Str\u00e4ssler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This Is Not the First Time<\/h3>\n

The cities featured in this release are not the first to face this pressure. When Rio de Janeiro hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup\u2014followed just two years later by the 2016 Summer Olympics<\/a>\u2014communities in the city\u2019s favelas faced intense displacement as real estate speculation accelerated ahead of both events. In the years that followed, NGO Catalytic Communities (CatComm<\/a>) worked alongside favela residents to adapt the CLT model to Brazil\u2019s informal settlement context, helping launch the country\u2019s first CLT initiative<\/a>. That experience is now a touchstone for CLT practitioners worldwide. Mega-events provide speculators with a unique opportunity that in some cases generate and in others exacerbate housing crises.<\/p>\n

\u201c80,000 people were evicted<\/a> from their homes due to the \u2018state of exception<\/a>\u2019 that was created by Rio’s hosting the World Cup finals and Olympic Games, even in communities with 99-year leases provided by the state government. This in addition to those with titles that experienced Rio’s first-ever processes of favela gentrification. In both cases, established, consolidated and well-functioning favela neighborhoods were denied their land rights and ability to remain in the communities they built themselves. After witnessing this alongside our favela partners, we began the Favela Community Land Trust Project. Today, five Brazilian cities recommend CLTs in their Master Plans. We hope to launch the nation’s first CLT in the coming years. \u201d \u2014 Theresa Williamson, urban planner and Executive Director, Catalytic Communities<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"First<\/a>
First in the country to regulate Community Land Trusts, the S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o de Meriti Master Plan<\/a> established the tool as a land titling model that promotes collective land management, protects communities\u2019 right to remain in their territories, promotes affordable housing and stimulates local development. It has helped pave the way for launching Brazil\u2019s first CLT in the coming years. Photo: F-CLT\/CatComm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Movement 57 Years in the Making<\/h3>\n

What began with one organization in Albany, Georgia in 1969 now spans over 600 CLTs across dozens of countries\u2014and new ones are forming every month, particularly in cities facing rapid gentrification and climate vulnerability<\/a>. On May 15, the global CLT community celebrated its fifth annual World CLT Day<\/a>, a global moment dedicated to celebrating Community Land Trusts, connecting communities across the movement and raising visibility for the work happening in neighborhoods like the ones featured here.<\/p>\n

World CLT Day this year was anchored by the first-ever 2026 Global CLT Virtual Summit<\/a>, a free six-week series now taking place of online events running from May 5 to June 10. Conceived to reclaim and honor the Black and Indigenous leadership traditions that gave rise to the CLT model, the Summit brings together practitioners, residents, organizers, researchers and allies from across the movement to share experiences, reflect on practice and advance community land stewardship globally. Co-hosted by the International Center for Community Land Trusts and Rondo Community Land Trust<\/a>, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation<\/a>, the Summit is free and open to all. Join events of the six-week series here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The International Center for Community Land Trusts, which maintains the Global CLT directory and supports CLT development worldwide, connects practitioners across regions and coordinates the movement\u2019s growing global infrastructure. The organizations featured here did not wait for the World Cup to start doing this work and they will not stop when it is over.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Community Land Trusts<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

This release may be republished freely. We encourage media to reach out directly to CLT contacts in their city for local angles, additional quotes and resident stories<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Press Contacts:<\/h3>\n

Houston: <\/b>Ashley Allen, Houston Community Land Trust | Email: <\/span>ashley@houstonclt.org<\/span><\/a> | Phone: +1 (832) 638-6763<\/span><\/p>\n

Los Angeles: <\/b>Jessica Melendez, T.R.U.S.T. South LA | Email: <\/span>jessica@trustsouthla.org<\/span><\/a> | Phone: +1 (323) 233-4118<\/span><\/p>\n

Toronto: <\/b>Dominique Russell, Kensington Market Community Land Trust | Email: <\/span>dominique@kmclt.ca<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Vancouver: <\/b>Djaka Blais, Hogan\u2019s Alley Society | Email: <\/span>djaka@hogansalleysociety.org<\/span><\/a>| Phone: +1 (778) 200-1003<\/span><\/p>\n

Brazil context: <\/b>Theresa Williamson, Catalytic Communities \u2014 <\/span>press@catcomm.org<\/span><\/a> | WhatsApp: +55-21-991976444<\/span><\/p>\n

International context: <\/b>Ben Harris, International Center for Community Land Trusts \u2014 <\/span>ben@communitylandtrust.net<\/span><\/a> | Phone: +1 (706) 536-8603<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Support\u00a0<\/b>RioOnWatch<\/i><\/b>\u2019s tireless, critical and cutting-edge hyperlocal journalism, online community organizing meetings and direct support to favelas <\/b>by clicking here.<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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