A New Civic Generation: How to capture value for communities in new developments

A New Civic Generation sets out a new deal between people and place: a different way of building new neighbourhoods, towns and cities that puts communities at the heart of local economic and civic life.

The report, produced in partnership with Forest City, argues that place creation is value creation. Yet too much of the value generated by new development currently flows out of local areas, rather than being retained for the benefit of the people who live there.

Drawing on examples of community ownership, municipalism and cooperative enterprise, the report sets out a practical model for capturing and retaining this value locally. It proposes giving citizens a voice in shaping new developments, transferring assets and value into community trusts, and building long-term stewardship into the institutions that govern new places.

The result would be new places where communities have both the resources and the power to shape their future.