Economic Resources of Local Places
I’m drawing on my experience of community development to consider six categories of community assets, and the fifth is economic resources of local places. You can find the full list towards the end of my post, What Are Community Assets?
“Economic resources” is gloriously vague and so it’s worth asking what do we mean by the economic resources of local places?
Community development workers in England have not shown much interest in economic regeneration. Community audits rarely acknowledge the local economy. When people mention it, the focus is usually on community initiatives such as social enterprises.
Perhaps the radical 60s and 70s account for the origins of community development. Activists viewed the economy as a source of injustice. The economy certainly is a source of injustice, more so today than in the 60s and 70s. Perhaps things would be better today had we paid more attention to the economy in the past.
So, let’s take a look at some local economic resources, many perhaps peripheral to our understanding of our neighbourhoods.
Natural resources
Some places benefit from local natural resources, most notably perhaps in the coal communities that until recently were dependent on coal for most local income. They fought for a decent income from work in difficult and dangerous conditions over decades and in the UK coal imports wiped out most of these communities.
Steel communities grew from nearby reserves of wood, iron ore and water to power the earlier mills. These industries too were wiped out by cheaper imports.
Farming communities benefit from proximity to a variety of sources of income and so they are perhaps more robust. They are however similarly vulnerable to cheap imports. Older readers may remember Guernsey tomatoes being advertised. Today, if you travel around Guernsey you see empty greenhouses, their tomato industry is no more.
Perhaps ports and other centres of communications are beneficiaries of natural resources. Liverpool for example used to be wealthy through imports and is now not so wealthy as imports have declined.
Recent history suggests international trade is not always good news for communities. This is one reason many economists worry about the decline of manufacturing, which means there is less to export.
Parks, woodlands and other tourist attractions can also be seen as natural resources. They bring trade into an area.
Local Businesses
Large-scale industry is another source of local wealth. Billingham was for many years a relatively wealthy town, when ICI was the dominant industry. ICI is no longer there, although replaced by several smaller chemical factories. This has resulted in long-term unemployment in the area.
Note this started as a local business that combined with others to form ICI and so decision-making left the area. For several decades the economy in Billingham was pretty much dependent on ICI and the decline of the chemicals industry was a disaster.
The problem with many larger businesses is their locality becomes dependent on them and suffers when they are withdrawn. A more diverse local economy is likely to be more stable.
The success of small and medium-sized industry will depend upon the extent to which businesses can support one another. This is another reason a more diverse economy can be beneficial. Remember, smaller businesses are likely to have a shorter lifespan and so there will be a higher turnover.
Traders
Traders are often the first to spring to mind when we think about the local economy because they are visible businesses. People do not leave their homes to visit business parks but they may enjoy shopping in local centres where they meet friends and relax. Traders are just as dependent on industry as everyone else of course. Mass unemployment in a small areas is likely to put many retail businesses out of business as people spend less.
Traders are the backbone of any community. Other activities gravitate to the shopping centre so that residents can attend to other aspects of their lives in the same place. This has been the purpose of the marketplace for centuries and why large-scale out-of-town shopping centres seem so dead. Where shopping is the sole activity, there is little sense of community life. These centres draw people from all over, so it is less likely they bump into someone they know. They draw custom out of local centres and so put local traders out of business. This reduces the activity in local marketplaces so that many neighbourhoods seem dead.
Freelancers
Freelancers are often not noticed because they are not visible. Shops can be found in shopping centres, businesses in business areas and parks but freelancers often work from home and have little local presence.
If they are doing well and spend some of their income locally, they will have an impact on the local economy. Furthermore, if they seek out and support other local businesses, they may have an economic impact on the area beyond their apparent size.
The thing is freelancers are experimenting with new ideas. Many will not succeed but it is from small beginnings that significant businesses can grow.
Trade Associations
Associations of businesses are important because they are opportunities for businesses to meet that would otherwise never find one another. There are several kinds of association and I shall mention two.
Referral marketing associations are where smaller businesses can support each other. They are open to any business although there are associations specifically for larger businesses.
These are usually national organisations so that businesses can build relationships locally through meetings and nationally through online contact.
Local associations are where traders (usually) in a single centre meet to support each other’s businesses. Hunters Bar, for example, has an established traders association that does what it can to support small enterprises in the area. Also freelancers who produce saleable products can sell them through the local shops.
Local associations may have a role to play in wider neighbourhoods. Hunters Bar’s community organisation, with the traders, organises a quarterly street market. The community association has their own agenda but recognise the contribution traders make to their neighbourhood.
Is it possible for community and business organisation to become natural allies? Share in the comments interesting examples you know about.