Local Economy

Writing in Backyard, a newsletter exploring scalable solutions to make housing fairer, more affordable and more environmentally sustainable, Emily Nonko puts Cincinnati's Margie Spinney and Renting Partnerships in the spotlight. The renter equity model changes everything by making wealth...

About every six weeks for the last six years, John and Peter have hosted conversations with community-building social innovators as their guests. Their August 4, 2020 guest was DeAmon Harges, named by the Kettering Foundation as one of eight...

Neighbor to neighbor, block by block. That's the approach they're taking in connecting people to one another and other resources available to them in Central Louisiana. It's the asset-based work of the Strong Neighborhood Project, centered in Pineville, LA. They...

We hear that Americans are polarized. Nationally, there is not of enough trust to bridge the national chasm. Yet in our small towns and neighborhoods, it is often difficult to find strong community wide divisive polarity. Instead there is...

Small acts of bravery, caring, and connection can heal this pain and weave the future we want This is the Hammonton Health Coalition (HHC) Facebook cover, a colorful picture showing a diverse group of kids, teachers, parents, first responders, and...

Cormac's post is an adaptation of the Introduction to his just-published book, Rekindling Democracy: A Professional's Guide to Working in Citizen Space. Abundant Community readers can buy the book at a 40% discount by contacting Wipf and Stock Publishers at orders@wipfandstock.com and quoting the...

In his teachings and writings, John McKnight, founder and co-director of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University, has echoed Alexis de Tocqueville’s appreciation of the value of healthy civic associations. As coauthor of Building Communities from the...

There is a pretty good chance you are directly or indirectly connected to the power of disability. The majority of people are. For starters, one-seventh of the people on the planet have a disability, which makes people with disabilities the...

At the start of any asset-based initiatives, the identification of local assets is the essential starting point. Nonetheless, in many neighborhoods, most of these local assets are not recognized. Even though they are present they are not visible. This...