Community wealth and inclusivity are possible in municipalities of all sizes, according to a new report.
The United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County worked with the Windsor-Essex Community Benefits Coalition (WECBC) on the report, entitled "Building Community Wealth: What is Possible in Rural, Small and Mid-Sized Communities".
Using the community benefits initiatives tied to the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, the report outlines scaled-down community wealth strategies for small and mid-sized municipalities. These strategies are designed to help communities of any size recover from economic difficulties and reinvent themselves.
According to the Rockefeller Foundation, a private foundation based in New York City, there are five characteristics of an inclusive economy that are interchangable, participation, equity, growth, stability, and sustainability.
"This report is the hopeful start of a larger conversation in rural, small, and mid-sized communities like Windsor-Essex County around community wealth building and inclusivity," said United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County Executive Director Lorraine Goddard in a media release. "Every community, no matter the size, can find ways to become more prosperous if we work differently and collectively."
Local examples of these strategies include a 40-tower wind turbine project in Lakeshore, which helps protect the environment and employs 200 people. $6-million of the $10-million estimated in property taxes over 20 years has been committed to the Municipality of Lakeshore.
In Windsor, surplus land use was the focus of a parkette project in the Ford City neighbourhood. A corner lot previously used to store broken-down vehicles was turned into greenspace with proximity to a Transit Windsor stop.
The 32-page report can be read in its entirety on WECBC's official website.