Hybrid Strategies to Support Planetary Boundaries Investment in our Cities

Carlos Gasca Yanez
Aug 22, 2017 · 4 min read

In a sharing/mutual benefit economic system, agglomeration is useful. Being together can reduce our carbon footprint if well designed and managed. In addition, social networks operating under mutual benefit/exchange strategies can add value and facilitate innovation in sustainable development. Finally, a fluid connection between social networks and agglomeration can help us develop crowd funding sources of capital that are driven by alternative values which can support a “Real Economy” based on planetary boundaries. These sources of capital can link sustainability efforts to existing sources of public, private and civic capital.

A sharing/mutual benefit economic system emphasizes local trade-able economic activity that builds wealth by developing sustainable tech, local food and energy systems, appropriate housing and utilization of local materials. This is in contrast to a city based on real estate, stadiums and services wrapped around multinational corporations. The aim is to create a resilient local economy that is sustainable and yet competitive in a global context.

In a localized economy equitable development can be gained through hybrid strategies, for example, increasing the supply of housing that hourly wage earners can access through an Employer/Employee Housing Fund, which could be implemented at three levels of government state, county and municipal or alternatively could just be county and city. Creating more housing hourly wage earners can afford provides them greater opportunity to participate in the economy and achieve stability. For the municipality it serves to stabilize access to a labor force that employers need, it increases local expenditures as households have greater capacity to spend; and it reduces social impacts and costs associated with homelessness.

Hybrid strategies also help to expand the mutual benefit/exchange economy in a municipality. They achieve this by fusing co-governance social networks intent into viable sustainable trade mechanisms to achieve the desired outcomes. These mechanisms become local market spaces for trade-able goods, which increase local wealth. Examples: Employer/Employee Housing Fund for hourly wage earners and a Civic Real State Trust support affordable housing development or hybrid food co-ops (GreenPorch.ca) to increase access to healthy food.

Many cities are successfully transforming into a globally competitive but localized economy that could support a planetary boundaries approach investment strategy. However, within this localized economy significant gaps in opportunity can exist between neighborhoods, in particular minority neighborhoods. In part this is due to historic elements such as access to education, but it also includes cultural differences that impact the ability of these neighborhoods to participate effectively with the co-governing social networks in redevelopment efforts.

The difference between saying to a low income minority neighborhood; “together we can create change” versus “we here to help you create the change we want” are significant. In the first case we could work towards leveraging existing household equity and grow it by connecting it to the redevelopment process. In the second instance we will facilitate the change “we” want, but households see little or no significant change in their economic or opportunity conditions.

“Together we can create change” requires sincere commitment to equitable development. As well as, connecting expertise, time, appropriate capital, developing trust and good communication between co-governing networks and the neighborhood.

Connecting expertise means being able to analyze household conditions and developing paths for them to gain equity or access to appropriate housing solutions through the redevelopment process. We could say, their five thousand dollar lot is now worth 50,000 so they gained equity through the redevelopment process. However, for them to acquire housing in the new redeveloped neighborhood or anywhere else in the city 50,000 is not enough.

Alternatively, we can say how can we manage the redevelopment process so this household retains access to housing within the city and to public transportation? Expertise can then look at the variables to develop the right mix, location, building envelope size, form of occupancy, type of financing structure to match income capacity.

Engaging the households early in the re-development process saves the city time and money, as property tax foreclosure process can take up to three years and can cost more than 50,000 dollars. Accelerating land assembly by engaging households is beneficial to the city, households and developers. In this scenario a hybrid organization like a Civic Real Estate Trust could serve households interests, while generating benefits for the municipality and developers. The Civic Real Estate Trust receives the households property (a deposit) and then develops a Personal Housing Plan to deliver an appropriate housing solution. It achieves that by patching various existing sources of capital and land to create or obtain a housing solution that fits.

The combined housing solutions needed then become a marketplace for local entrepreneurs who can respond to these needs. Entrepreneurs can analyze the mix of elements; location, building envelope size, form of occupancy, type of financing structure to match income capacity and innovate to produce the desired outcome. The innovation process can include utilizing local materials, alternative forms of occupancy for example co-op housing, or patient capital from civic sources. In essence hybrid strategies aim to maximize local productive capacity by creating market spaces for trade-able goods.

In considering a Planetary Boundaries Investment stratregy cities are key in assisting us reduce our carbon foot print. As well, they can assist us to develop and learn mechanisms of mutual exchange and sharing. The ethos, culture and skills we develop in managing our cities can then inform our regional and national development and investment strategies. Hopefully to achieve substantive economic change that improves the probability of a living planet.

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