Rethinking Community Economic Development

This innovative book outlines a systemic, transformational and entrepreneurial approach to community economic development. Thomas Lyons rethinks conventional transaction-oriented paradigms and illustrates how building community-wide ecosystems to enable bonding and bridging social capital can achieve deep, lasting and positive change. Rethinking Community Economic Development discusses how the development of thriving and equitable societies can be most efficiently facilitated by creating economic and social value. Lyons presents an integrated and comprehensive perspective exploring ecosystem thinking as a framework for community economic development with a particular focus on social entrepreneurship ecosystems. Combining theoretical and practical concepts, he examines the purpose of social capital building and the role of social entrepreneurship in attaining wealth equality. The book then concludes with reflections on how entrepreneurship and ecosystem thinking can create a more sustainable future. Students and scholars of development economics, regional economics and entrepreneurship will greatly benefit from this illuminating book. It is also an essential resource for practitioners and policymakers in urban and regional planning.