Real estate development and major infrastructure projects can have a profound impact on the communities in which they take place. Large developments have the capability to change the character of a neighbourhood as they exert economic, social, and environmental externalities upon the local environment in which residents and businesses exist.
But who decides on what will be the ‘changed’ character and ‘new’ composition of a community after the construction phase of a development? Is it just undirected happenstance or can we create the means to identify community needs and priorities to achieve the preferred social, economic and environmental outcomes as an intentional result of a major development?
Community benefit agreements (CBAs)are a tool to allow for value to be defined by and to accrue to the neighbourhoods most directly affected by the new development. A CBA allows local residents, social enterprises, and businesses to share in the design of the future of their community.
Table of Contents
About Buy Social Canada
Introduction
What Is A Community Benefit Agreement?
How to Use This Tool
The Excel Spreadsheet
Valuable Resources
References
