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Community
Economic Development
Reprinted
from Issue # 99 of Communities Magazine
In “My Turn”,
readers share ideas, opinions, proposals, critiques,
Lind dreams about community living. The opinions
expressed here are not necessarily those of the
publisher, staff, or advertisers of
Communities
magazine.
Whenever anyone asks me
where I spend my time these days, I often say, "In my
car." For most of the past three years, I have commuted
between Oakwood Farm, near Muncie, Indiana, and the
community of Stelle, Illinois (where I have recently
returned), partly due to continuing connections and
partly for work I do in Kankakee County, Illinois, in
Community Economic Development
(CED).
My participation in one
community occasionally benefits another. For example, I
met pianist Will
Tuttle when he gave a concert at my local Unity
church in Indiana, and that led to my producing an event
with him at Stelle. While at the event, I picked up an
article in
Solar Today
featuring information about straw bale construction
recently completed at Stelle. Returning to Indiana, I
shared that article with several Ball State University
students who were holding a concert to raise funds to
build a prototype straw-bale house at Oakwood Farm!
In reflecting on the
cross-pollinating that has resulted from my own
commuting, I am struck by the great potential for
cross-pollination between intentional communities and
the wider culture.
What has been
especially exciting for me is the potential connection
between members of intentional communities and the field
of' Community Economic Development, a citizen-initiated
strategy to develop the economy of a community (in the
generic, "neighborhood" sense), region, or country for
the benefit of its residents.
Community Economic
Development strategies take into account a neighborhood
or town's social, cultural, and political values. It
emphasizes local people owning their own businesses;
learning to participate in and manage their own economic
development process; and actively participating in local
government, helping to make decisions about proposals
that affect them.
The people-oriented
approach of CEO helped me understand why so many
traditional approaches to community and economic
development fail: They lack comprehensive focus and
commitment to self-help, empowerment, and teaching
people leadership and decision making skills.
After living in
intentional communities for many years and working in
the field of Community Development, I studied CED in a
Masters Program at New Hampshire College. My classmates
and I developed a list of what we saw as root causes of
common social problems:
·
Spiritual and
cultural disintegration;
·
The "me generation";
·
Lack of a common
vision;
·
Absence of wisdom;
·Focus on accumulation of
money versus circulation of money;
Lack of an appropriate
values system and ways to express it.
Later we brainstormed
solutions to these problems by reflecting on the values of
Community Economic Development:
·
Building
collaborative partnerships;
·
Active citizen
participation in government and community;
·
Applying cooperative
principles;
·
Retaining wealth in
the neighborhoods;
·Seeing personal and
organizational goals within the context of community and
society;
Considering and
appreciating multicultural differences in religion, race,
values, perspectives, and communication;
Enabling people and
communities to empower themselves;
Recognizing a spiritual
underpinning, a sense of oneness.
Most intentional
communities share many, if not all, of these values.
Many cities and
neighborhoods that have applied the principles of Community
Economic Development have discovered that this approach
addresses root causes of major concerns such as crime,
drugs, gangs, quality of schools, and the need for jobs. An
estimated 2,500 Community Development Corporations (local
organizations which use Community Economic Development
principles) have generated over 90,000 jobs in their local
communities, developed or renovated over 19. million square
feet of industrial and commercial space (which means more
jobs), and developed over 350,000 units of affordable
housing.
These are outstanding
accomplishments for what are often grassroots,
community-based organizations comprised primarily of so
called "disadvantaged citizens." Just imagine the
possibilities if the combined wisdom, experience, and
resources of community veterans and activists in Community
Development Corporations could share their ideas and
expertise with each other!
How many more people could
benefit from state-of-the-art community development
techniques if they were also taught and used by people
living in intentional communities? And how much more
effectively could CDCs enable citizens to co-create their
individual and collective destinies if we communitarians
shared our expertise in consensus decision-making, conflict
resolution, and a balanced approach to meeting individual
and community needs?
I believe we should be
actively identifying all the other organizations and
disciplines that could benefit from discussing community
issues and the methods of Community Economic Development.
And I believe we should organize regional, national and
perhaps international forums for these discussions. In
addition to intentional communities and CEO organizations,
I would include Community Service, Inc., Scott Peck's
Foundation for Community Encouragement, the Community
Development Society, the National Congress for Community
Economic Development, and various government entities that
have demonstrated an interest in resident-empowered
communities, such as the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development and its 3,500 Public Housing Authorities.
I invite every intentional
community and network of intentional communities, such as
the Fellowship for Intentional Community, the Federation of
Egalitarian Communities, the Emissaries of Divine Light, and
so on, to explore the questions: "How can our community
better serve those around us?" "How can we more effectively
demonstrate the relevance of intentional community
experiences to the wider society?"
Together, we may yet
achieve our ultimate dreams and realize the potential for
having the lasting, transformational influence and positive
impact I believe we should have, by sharing our vision,
expertise, and accomplishments with the wider society.
Q
For more information:
National Congress for
Community Economic Development, 202-2345009; H7eb site:
www.ncced.org
CED Masters Program, New
Hampshire College, 2500 N River Rd., Manchester; NH 03106;
603-644-3103.
Charles Betterton, founder of
CENTER SPACE, the
Center for Spiritual, Personal and Community Empowerment,
has over 25
years of
administrative experience in community, organization!, and
economic development. He co-founded the
Fellowship for Intentional
Community, edited
Communities
magazine (1984--1992), and
has lived in intentional communities over
18
years. He can be reached at
127 Sun Street, Stelle, IL 60919; 760-212-9931 or by email
at
charlesbetterton@gmail.com
.
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