Holistic development : supporting businesses in the Dudley Street neighborhood

Abstract

Current models of inner city economic development overlook the social function of businesses. These models when applied to the neighborhood level are limited by the fact businesses do not serve a solely economic function. If economic development practitioners are concerned about alleviating poverty in inner cities, then practitioners should include an assessment of the social functions of business as well as the economic functions. As the literature and empirical findings show, businesses help to build social capital in the community through their relationships with customers and other organizations both inside and outside the neighborhood. Social capital generation of small businesses is a necessary but not sufficient condition for poverty alleviation. Social capital needs to be channeled towards a collective goal of community change or poverty alleviation. Community building organizations like the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative have created a resident led process and mechanism for building social capital towards the goal of enhanced quality of life in the neighborhood. Business development practitioners interested in poverty alleviation strategies can draw upon these community-building institutions to do what I refer to as "holistic development" in the neighborhood. This is a case study of how a neighborhood planning organization view businesses in the context of the community building activities. This thesis attempts to understand the possibilities of small businesses as community-building institutions.