Revitalizing Place Through Social Enterprise

Around the world, rural and urban communities alike face growing socio-economic and environmental challenges. Confronted with mounting threats of climate change, food insecurity, resource depletion, and inequality, local leaders are increasingly leveraging place-based social enterprises to reimagine and reshape the future. This volume introduces the PLACE Framework as a novel approach for exploring how such enterprises tackle challenges and work to revitalize their places. Born out of engaged research in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, the PLACE Framework offers principles and lessons for community development, highlighting the importance of Promoting community leaders; Linking divergent perspectives; Amplifying local capacities and assets; Conveying compelling stories; and Engaging both/and thinking.

Collaboratively written by academics and practitioners, this volume offers case studies of place-based social enterprises in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, drawing on the lived experience of social entrepreneurs and community leaders to show the diverse ways the PLACE Framework can be applied to help create more sustainable futures.