Adriana Abizadeh-Barbour on Building the Neighborhood Commons: What Happens When the Neighborhood Owns the Block

In the season five premiere of The Ownership Economy, we sit down with Adriana Abizadeh-Barbour, the Executive Director of the Kensington Corridor Trust (KCT). Operating in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood—an area heavily impacted by systemic disinvestment, concentrated poverty, and speculative real estate pressure—KCT is pioneering a legally distinct model known as a neighborhood trust. Rather than a traditional community land trust, KCT utilizes a unique dual-structure combining a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a Perpetual Purpose Trust to decommodify commercial real estate, guaranteeing intergenerational affordability and local community control.

Andrea breaks down the practical, ground-level mechanics of the model, including the 100% tenant retention secret driven by their 3-to-6-month community engagement process, and their landmark decision to compensate local resident board members at double the living wage (over $46 per hour) because as she says, "time is a social justice issue".

Finally, we discuss KCT's massive new milestone: a $20 million acquisition that scales their footprint by 300% and forces them to navigate the strategic trade-offs of secured capital and government funding for the first time to win a speed test against private speculators.

Adriana speaks on the housing commons session at the Ownership Economy Summit, October 1 in New York — full agenda. Podcast listeners get a discount with code PODCAST30 at registration.

Show notes

• Kensington Corridor Trust (KCT) Website: https://kctphilly.org

• KCT Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kctphilly

• SSIR Article - "Communities Need Neighborhood Trusts" by Joseph Margulies: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/communities_need_neighborhood_trusts

• SSIR Article - "In Defense of Neighborhood Trusts" by Joseph Margulies: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/in_defense_of_neighborhood_trusts

• Yale IEDL Case Study on KCT: https://iedl.yale.edu/neighborhood-trust/kensington

• Shelterforce Feature - "Who Holds the Power?": https://shelterforce.org/2025/10/03/who-holds-the-power-how-one-corridor-flipped-the-script-on-development/

• The Purpose Foundation (Steward Ownership): https://www.purpose-us.com/

• Purpose Foundation KCT Deep-Dive: https://www.purpose-us.com/writing/kct-episode1

• Launch Partner - Shift Capital: https://shiftcapital.us

• Launch Partner - IF Lab Profile: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/if-lab-philadelphia/

• April De Simone's Sister Initiative in Trenton (Vesi): https://nonprofitquarterly.org/how-can-a-perpetual-purpose-trust-build-community/

• Trenton Journal Profile on De Simone: https://trentonjournal.com/de-simone-pioneers-shared-equity-housing-in-trenton-with-innovative-land-trust/

• MIT Living Wage Calculator (Philadelphia County): https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/42101