Community-Managed assets or organizations are those that are owned and controlled through some
representative mechanisms that allow a
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...
to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising.
Benefits of ownership in
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
projects such as
dams
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
and
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
are claimed to include increased responsiveness to needs of that community and the community valuing the projects more highly.
Community land buyouts
Communities can sometimes buy the land they live on and manage them through locally-run trusts. There are many examples of this in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
including
Eigg,
Assynt
Assynt ( gd, Asainn or ) is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland, lying north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. Assynt is known for its landscape and its remarkable mountains, which have led to the area, along with ...
and
Ulva
Ulva (; gd, Ulbha) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, off the west coast of Mull. It is separated from Mull by a narrow strait, and connected to the neighbouring island of Gometra by a bridge. Much of the island is formed fro ...
.
Community owned enterprises
In
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...
, after the local
Ames Department Store
Ames Department Stores Inc. was an American chain of discount stores based in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, United States. The company was founded in 1958 with a store in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and at its peak operated 700 stores in 20 states, i ...
closed due to bankruptcy and residents were forced to travel 50 miles to
Plattsburgh for staples, the town was approached by
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
which offered to build a 250,000 square foot
supercenter, but it was felt by the community that Walmart would negatively impact local business and increase traffic. As an alternative a community-owned store was organized and shares were sold to community residents. $500,000 was raised by about 600 residents who made an average investment of $800. goal last spring. The store, Saranac Lake Community Store, opened in October 29, 2011 in remodeled facilities in downtown Saranac Lake.
Powell, Wyoming, also has a community store established in 2002 under similar circumstances. In both instances the securities were
intrastate offerings registered under less onerous
state securities laws rather than
federal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many ...
.
Funds were raised in a similar way for an
independent bookstore
An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, c ...
in Brooklyn, a
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
in Oakland, and restaurants in
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Man ...
"Love a local business? Buy a share
Sometimes it takes a village to fund a company." by Helaine Olen on CNN Money, September 10, 2009 and Hardwick, Vermont. In Hardwick two enterprises were created, one which operates a restaurant which prepares meals using locally grown food, another which bought and equipped the location as a restaurant.
, would relax securities law requirements making it easier for a community to raise money for community owned enterprises.
Examples
* WindShare (community owned wind power co-operative)
* Community wind energy
* Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
* Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...
See also
* Commons
* Cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
* List of fan-owned sports teams
Notes
{{reflist
External links and further reading
*Bryden, J and Geisler, C (2007) Land Reform and Community - a ‘new wave’ land reform? ''Land Use Policy''
Community Owned Business
This article by the American Independent Business Alliance explains the distinctions between community-owned and cooperative businesses and indexes many examples of community-owned enterprises in different business sectors.
"Love a Local Business? Advise it to be careful about selling shares!"
blog post by Katovich Law Group
"Local Stock Exchanges and National Stimulus"
by Michael H. Shuman, originally published in the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Community Development Investment Review Volume 5, Issue 2, 2009
Volume 5, Issue 2, 2009, foreword by David Erickson, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Full review
*
Could “Small Is Beautiful” Replace “Too Big to Fail?”
Don Shaffer, RSF Social Finance
New move over land reform
BBC News Online, 19 August 2003
Anarchist theory
Cooperatives
Socialism