‘Community Land Trust is the developer which never goes away’ What can the UK learn from a Global approach to community-led housing? Reflections from the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange - Rio de Janeiro

I recently attended the 2026 Global CLT Peer Exchange in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I learned from leaders, communities, and organisations delivering housing in contexts often very different from the UK. I left both inspired and challenged, energised by the scale, ambition, and determination I witnessed, and reflecting on how much further the UK could go in supporting truly community-led housing.

One thing that stayed with me in the context of Brazil is how deeply land is connected to identity, resilience, and continuity. As a Black British woman of Afro-Caribbean heritage, I felt this strongly in communities whose histories are shaped by the legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. For us, land is not just a resource; it is a cultural infrastructure embedded in our memory and bloodline.

In Rio’s favelas, communities have built far more than homes. They have created systems, neighbourhood associations, mutual aid networks, and informal economies that sustain daily life. Homes are often self-built, evolving over time to accommodate multi-generational living. Leadership is frequently held by Black women in their 50s and 60s, individuals too often overlooked, yet central to holding communities together through care and resistance.

Like the mural of a woman carrying a water jug, they carry the lifeblood of their communities.

A particularly powerful moment was hearing from Maria de Penha of Vila Autódromo. Her community resisted eviction ahead of the 2016 Olympics, despite holding legal rights to the land. Residents organised and developed a “People’s Plan” to demonstrate how they could remain. Although many were ultimately displaced, some stayed. When asked why, Maria’s response was simple and profound: “Some things don’t have a price tag.” It was a clear expression of the idea that land is not just owned, it is something people belong to, and it should serve those who live on it. Vila Autódromo, though largely destroyed, stands as a reminder of what community resistance can look like and what is lost when people are excluded from decisions about their own neighbourhoods.

For the UK, the contexts differ, but the core questions are similar: how do we ensure people have a real stake in the places they live? And how do we protect affordability for future generations?

Several reflections stand out. First, community power must be real. What I saw went far beyond consultation; communities were shaping outcomes and challenging institutions. Second, scale is possible. In the UK, community-led housing remains small, but elsewhere it is turning into a global movement. Third, land is fundamental. Without long-term control, lasting affordability is difficult to achieve. Finally, partnerships matter. Progress relies on collaboration between communities, technical experts, and supportive policymakers.  It is time we reframed the narrative around what housing and community look like.