Toronto Chinatown Land Trust

This story was written by Julia Evans, as part of Project Arrowroot. 

In the face of rising prices, economic uncertainty, and volatile climate conditions, the walls can feel like they’re closing in. Toronto’s growing scene of community land trusts is a hopeful reclamation of a city where residents feel the ever-looming presence of Big Development. These organizations are fostering purpose-driven  economics through the stewardship of community spaces and the protection of affordable housing.

The Toronto Chinatown Land Trust (TCLT) arose in response to the purchase of a block of property on Spadina Avenue (CityNews: Amanda Seraphina, Julia Lawrence, and Anita Li, 2023 ). A call to action to keep the land local initiated the organisation after a condo developer intended to build a multi-story building, displacing the long-standing businesses in the existing units. The Trust works to foster community, steward land for residents and implement anti-colonial principles.

The Toronto Chinatown Land Trust acquires and manages land for community-oriented purposes. The trust is a democratic organization, its leaders elected by members to support the wants and needs of the community. The TCLT and sister organizations across the city (like the Parkdale Community Land Trust and the Kensington Community Land Trust) engage with public and private stakeholders to address gaps identified by local members.

TCLT’s strategic plan aligns with the doughnut economics model, a purpose-driven economic model established by Kate Raworth in 2012. The ‘doughnut’ is a zone where humans can live “just right” – where society can remedy welfare shortfalls while staying within planetary boundaries. The model offers an alternative to the pursuit of endless GDP growth.

TCLT’s tenant-first approach fosters equity and inclusivity rather than the pursuit of monetary expansion. TCLT is building secure foundations for income and housing to create lasting economic prosperity without overshooting the carrying capacity of the environment. Preserving city infrastructure improves housing stability, reducing residential displacement and mitigating environmental harms on people and places. Land Trusts reflect one of the Doughnut Model’s 7 key ways of thinking, where economies must be “redistributive by design”. Wealth through land ownership and enterprise should be distributed upstream to create equitable income generation downstream.

Raworth’s model examines the reasons for economic development. Growth should be driven by a social foundation that supports community wellbeing rather than maximizing profit for big business and developers. The work of the Toronto Chinatown Land Trust, protecting local land and promoting social justice through political and financial avenues, goes hand in hand with this appeal. 

Toronto is built by the stories of its residents. Community land trusts are doing the work to keep these voices heard. Establishing a more rooted and multicultural Chinatown strengthens the social foundation needed for change. The TCLT is only growing, bringing hope for more equitable priorities at the city level and beyond.