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Finalist
Alison Novak
Enabling neighborhood residents to control money, invested in their communities, funded by real estate development
- Year
- 2023
- Organization
- Upside Collaboration Company
- Sector
- Placemaking & Neighborhoods
- Borough
- Brooklyn
What if communities became limited partners in real estate deals, fairly assigned profit interests and received lasting revenue streams to invest directly back into their block? Building on 15 years of housing development in New York City, Alison is dedicating her career to finding solutions to honor the value that communities create in neighborhoods.
By giving even a small portion of real estate upside through an ownership stake, Alison purports that a community — defined differently within each project neighborhood — can determine how its profits from a building can be spent, whether for textbooks for newly graduated students or aging folks in need of care or a cash payment to all community members. Currently piloting in Chicago and building on collaborations at Sidewalk Labs, Alison plans to bring this community-centric development model to NYC.