A community land trust / 2026
Common Ground
A place to belong, before a place to buy.
A land trust making permanently affordable homes needed a public presence that felt like an open door, rather than another property development.
What they came with
Common Ground had a committed group of residents, a first site, and a folder full of planning documents. Their old identity made them look like the developers they were trying to offer an alternative to. The brief was to make membership understandable.
What we saw in the fallow
We went to two residents’ meetings and a very wet site visit. The questions were practical: who owns the land, who gets a home, and what happens if you leave? Beautiful architectural drawings answered none of them. A conversation around a kitchen table did.
A note from the work
Public information ought to be public.
— Ingrid & MateoWhat we made
A generous, typographic identity and a website that explains the trust in the order people actually ask about it. An illustrated ownership diagram, plain-language eligibility pages, and a meeting archive make the important parts available without a login. Residents helped edit every explanation.
What grew
The autumn open meeting began with questions about the next site, rather than a repeat of the basics. Residents now maintain the meeting notes themselves. The identity belongs to the people who use it. We consider that the handover.
“It feels like somewhere we can invite our neighbours.”
Farah, resident and trustee
