Challenging traditional notions of development, these essays critically examine bottom-up, community economic development strategies in a wide variety of contexts: as a means of improving lives in northern, rural and inner-city settings; shaped and driven by women and by Aboriginal people; aimed at employment creation for the most marginalized. Most authors have employed a participatory research methodology. The essays are the product of a broader, three-year community-university research collaboration with a focus on the strengths and difficulties of participatory, capacity-building strategies for those marginalized by the competitive, profit-seeking forces of capitalism. No easy answers are offered, but many exciting initiatives with great potential are described and critically evaluated.
John Loxley is professor of economics and co-ordinator of research, Global Political Economy Program, University of Manitoba. He specializes in international finance, international development and community economic development, in particular alternatives to orthodox economic theory and policy. He is the author of Alternative Budgets; Interdependence, Disequilibrium and Growth; and Debt and Disorder.
Jim Silver is a professor of politics, chair of the Department of Politics and co-director of the new Urban and Inner City Studies Program at the University of Winnipeg. His most recent book is In Their Own Voices: Building Urban Aboriginal Communities.
Kathleen Sexsmith is studying international development at the University of Oxford.
The CCPA’s bold vision and creative solutions help us imagine better futures for all. Its efforts to build bridges between labour, industry, and civil society and mentor young activists lay the foundation for realizing those provocative futures. I consider my support for the CCPA an investment in a better future for British Columbia.
— Polly Ng, Next Up graduate