Nelson’s recent work focuses on how cities cope with population and economic decline, whether sudden or prolonged, sustained or temporary, and policies that could direct a just redevelopment. In spring 2012 Nelson supervised a team of graduate planning students on a project for the Crescent City Community Land Trust, LLC that examined the role and feasibility of CLTs in preserving Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties and recommended modifications to the Louisiana Qualified Allocation Plan that support long-term affordability. Currently, Nelson is examining the role of CLTs in preserving and revitalizing commercial assets through a comparative case study of commercial CLT efforts in New Orleans, LA and St. Paul, MN.