• Fair work . At the core of a generative , local economy are family-supporting , empowering , dignified jobs and skill / career development opportunities . A CWB approach seeks to address inequality and instability , and particularly the growing trend of wage stagnation , gender pay gaps and precarious work , by building wealth alongside income .
One important means of doing this , as discussed in the section on anchor institutions , is to use the power of local public sector anchor institutions to help shape an equitable labor market . Another key CWB lens related to workforce is to grow ownership opportunities for workers so that they can share in profits and access wealth beyond wages
• Just use of land and property . How land and property assets are owned and managed are key features of any local economy . In a CWB approach , ownership of local assets , including those held by anchor institutions , is a key consideration , so that they generate wider wealth and value for local citizens . CWB principles see land as more than a commodity .
It is , in some sense , a common asset of nature , that in the end “ belongs ” to none of us . This requires a long-term vision , in which land and vacant property are repurposed towards productive uses that can foster social wellbeing and environmental sustainability , and stewarded in such a way that delivers wider benefit for local communities , beyond mere financial return .
The work on Community Wealth Building is taking place across many parts of the world . In this the roots of CWB lie in Cleveland Ohio , USA , where The Cleveland Foundation in collaboration with city government , local institutions and community groups developed the first pilot of the community wealth building concept . They created the Evergreen Cooperatives , a network of green industrial enterprises that supply goods and services to large local anchor institutions . From there CWB spread to UK , with dozens of areas having now embarked on some form of CWB - notable Preston , dubbed the so called ‘ Preston model ’ ( CLES and Preston City Council , 2019 ).
In Preston , a Community Wealth Building strategy was deployed after a revitalization plan with an international development firm failed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis . The city started with a progressive procurement strategy and expanded to integrate strategies within all pillars in the wedge to redirect wealth and reshape the economy . Preston has seen £ 70 million of anchor institution spending returned to the community and 4,500 jobs created . Once listed as one of the most deprived urban areas in England , Preston rated as PricewaterhouseCooper ( PwC )’ s most improved city in 2018 and 2019 and the “ Best Place To Live ” in the north of England .
CWB movement is part of the realizable hope . It is delivering real social outcomes and is challenging recent local economic development convention . For a good local economy to advance even further , we need this Community Wealth Building agenda to grow .
Furthermore , in Scotland , we are seeing a national approach to CWB , where the five pillar model is now embedded into the national economic plan , with all 32 local Councils within the country developing bespoke CWB action plans . There is now a Minister for Community Wealth within the Scottish Government . National legislation is being developed to strengthen the legal basis for CWB as a key element of systemic economic transformation .
Similarly , many places across the US are already undertaking strategies within the CWB pillars . To this end , The Democracy Collaborative is engaging numerous cities and local governments to scale and amplify these practices . In the United States , TDC has already begun to build a network of “ community wealth building cities ,” with vastly different geographies and scales that reflect the diversity of social , economic , racial , and environmental challenges across the country . These include the city of Chicago , which has a created a community wealth building initiative within the Office of Equity and Racial Justice ( OERJ ), a mid-sized Northeastern city within a large
metropolitan region ( Somerville , Mass .); a small post-industrial mid-Atlantic town ( Meadville , Pa .); and a West Coast county combining urban and rural geographies ( Alameda County , Calif .)
And now , in Australia the City of Sydney is embarking on CWB plans , having launched consultation on a CWB strategy ( City of Sydney 2021 ).
CONCLUSION We live in oxymoronic times . On the one hand , with an unprecedented climate crisis and ongoing economic problems we see much pain and misery . On the other , there is much hope , with a growing sense that things can and must change , and that the present crisis is our last and best opportunity to change course . The CWB movement is part of the realizable hope . It is delivering real social outcomes and is challenging recent local economic development convention . For a good local economy to advance even further , we need this Community Wealth Building agenda to grow .
REFERENCES
CLES and Preston City Council ( 2019 ) How we built community wealth in Preston : Achievements and lessons . CLES
Jackson M and McInroy N ( 2017 ) Community Wealth Building through Anchor Institutions . Manchester : Centre for Local Economic Strategies .
McInroy N ( 2017 ) Inclusive growth : Making an economy work for a few more ?
McInroy , N ( 2018 ). Wealth for all : Building New local economies , Local economy 1-10
McInroy N , McKinley S and Sutton J ( 2022 ) New era for Community Wealth Building : Growing a democratic economy in cities across America , with lessons from Chicago
Sand P and Kane M ( 1988 ) Economic Development : What Works at the Local Level . Washington , DC : National League of Cities .
Vize R ( 2018 ) Hospitals as anchor institutions : How the NHS can act beyond healthcare to support communities . The BMJ 2018 :
World Inequality Lab ( 2022 ), World Inequality Report
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NEIL MCINROY Neil McInroy is the Global Lead for Community Wealth Building at the
Democracy Collaborative ( TDC ). TDC are a think , do and change organization , based in the United States . They are originators , thought and practice leaders for building a more democratic economy and Community Wealth Building .
VOL 15 NO 3 2022 08 www . edaustralia . com . au