COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT: ENSURING ECONOMIC VITALITY AND VIABILITY THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PARTICIPATION AND OWNERSHIP

We need to empower people at the local level for economic justice and opportunity.

The following is an essay that I proposed for use for a committee of NSP on economic empowerment at the community level, grounded in principles of justice, self realization and empowerment. Though this was never published, I do wish to share it with my fellow blog community.

Community Empowerment
ENSURING ECONOMIC VITALITY AND VIABILITY THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PARTICIPATION AND OWNERSHIP

We all belong to communities, as part of neighborhoods, cities, regions or as part of ethnic, cultural or religious/spiritual groups. We identify with our communities. We care about our communities. Our sense of place and even well-being and grounding are often quite linked to that of our community surround. When our community thrives, we thrive. When our community is deprived, we are deprived. When our communities are empowered through ownership, participation, engagement, inclusion in decisions that impact them directly, and most especially in the realm of economics and allocation of resources, we all benefit and are enriched. Economic democracy or participatory democracy in the economic life of the community means every voice is heard and everyone is represented, directly or indirectly, in a local or regional economy. For disadvantaged communities, particularly, that have been so disempowered, it is especially imperative that their voices be heard for proper redress of economic injustices. In other words, not only for rich, not only for poor, but for all! That is community empowerment.

So, in practice what does this all mean. It means that a community has a say if a Walmart is to come in next door to a downtown, whose small businesses might well be routed if Walmart would succeed in such a store location. It means that in urban redevelopment areas, developers getting tax incentives, must demonstrate what community benefits will accrue from their new developments. For example, it could mean that a developer of a large retail space might have to incorporate day care on its premises. As the Nation recently described, it could mean the encouragement of “neighborhood-benefitting corporations building housing and creating jobs in cities across America” and other such programs toward a “New American Commonwealth”. (Nation, January 23, 2006, p. 16, 18)

Therefore, it is our belief that the moral underpinning of economic democracy rests on two principles, the right of citizens to be represented in economic decisions that impact their lives, at all levels, but most directly at the community level where they reside, and that furthermore, citizens have the responsibility to exercise that right through vigilance, care, honest discourse and fair engagement. Faithful citizenship implies a right and a responsibility to ensure fairness, inclusion, stewardship and justice. Succinctly, the standard for the exercise of such faithful citizenship is the Common Good, and when that principle is applied to the economic life of the community, we all thrive.
We advocate two models for economic empowerment proven to be successful at the community level:
The Community Land Trust
From Institute for Community Economics http://www.iceclt.org/
“What is a CLT?
A community land trust (CLT) is a democratically controlled nonprofit organization that owns real estate in order to provide benefits to its local community - and in particular to make land and housing available to residents who cannot otherwise afford them.
CLTs have been established in different kinds of communities, with different kinds of projects meeting different community needs, but they share some important features, including a distinctive approach to the ownership of real estate, and a distinctive approach to community-based governance.” From: http://www.iceclt.org/clt/cltmodel.html
With respect to ownership, the distinctive features are that:
• Land is acquired for the Community.
• Homeownership is on Community Land
• Home ownership remains affordable for rthe the next homeowner
With respect to governance, the distinctive features are that:
• CLT’s are usually membership organizations, whose boards are elected by the members, who 1. either live in or use the CLT, depending on its purpose or 2. are members of the community interested in what the CLT is doing.
• That the Board structure usually includes three kinds of directors: resident members, those not representing the resident group, and those representing the broader community, with both residents and community interests thus being protected and in balance.
CLTs can be utilized for a variety of purposes including: community gardens, playgrounds, economic development activities, open space, or for community services, in inner cities or in rural areas to enhance farming, protect timber and firewood, and to hold conservation easements.
Thus, CLTs provide a community, direct engagement, participation and oversight - empowerment. Members and nearby residents alike are represented in its development and its governance. In this way, the common good is assured by putting in to practice the most essential principles of economic democracy, the right of citizens (community members) to participate in economic decisions or policy making that directly affects them and the responsibility of such participants to be fair, careful, conscientious, vigilant, equitable and just in their planning and governance.

Community Benefits Agreements
The Community Benefits Agreement is another form of accountable development. The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy describes a Community Benefit Agreement this way:
“The CBA process begins with interested members of the community, who identify how a proposed development project can benefit residents and workers. Once a list of potential benefits is determined, community members meet with the developer and representatives of the city to negotiate a CBA.
The CBA is a legal document that becomes part of the city's agreement with the developer. It contains numerous provisions stipulating exactly how the development will benefit the community.
Each CBA is unique, reflecting the needs of particular communities. LAANE has developed a CBA menu, which provides a list of potential benefits and how they can help workers and communities. The menu includes:
Quality Jobs
Community Services
First Source/Local Hiring and Job Training
Environmental Improvements
Affordable Housing
Community Involvement”
http://www.laane.org/ad/cba.html
Julian Gross, Legal Director, Legal Director, California Partnership for Working Families describes the CBA this way,
“A Community Benefits Agreement, or “CBA” is a legally enforceable contract, signed by community groups and by a developer, setting forth a range of community benefits that the developer agrees to provide as part of a development project.
ACBA is the result of a negotiation process between the developer and organized representatives of affected communities, in which the developer agrees to shape the development in a certain way or to provide specified community benefits. In exchange, the community group promises to support the proposed project before government bodies that provide the necessary permits and subsidies. In exchange, the community group promises to support the proposed project before government bodies that provide the necessary permits and subsidies. The CBA is both a process to work towards these mutually beneficial objectives, and a mechanism to enforce both sides’ promises.”
“Community Benefits, Agreements, Making Development Projects Accountable by Julian Gross Legal Director, California Partnership for Working Families, with Greg LeRoy, of Good Jobs First and Madeline Janis-Aparicio © Copyright 2002 Good Jobs First and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy. All rights reserved.
In essence, Community Benefits Agreements make it possible for communities to establish “win-win” standards for new economic development coming in to the community. It clearly says to the Developer that their development is expected to enhance the community in a way that has some benefit for everyone. It is at once a way for the needs of the most marginalized and least represented, as well as for those whom are the most impacted, to be considered at the bargaining table when new development is undertaken in the community. Developers win through increased support for projects and the community wins because it gains tangible benefits for its overall well-being. For citizens, the community becomes experienced as a fair place to be, a place where they can count on their needs being heard and reflected in economic development and where they can feel a sense of community pride, belonging and ownership. Our communities become better places in which to live.