community:

… a place where people live, work, and share things in common. People settled in locations as socioeconomic groups make up communities. A locale might have various socioeconomic levels—sub-communities. The place might have middle class neighborhoods as well as people living on the street—the homeless.

Among the objectives of many community based economic development initiatives are wealth and job creation, both of which are typically aimed at uplifting those at the lowest socioeconomic levels as well as expanding the working class. The socioeconomic differences might show up as demographics in community profiles.

Sustainable communities are places of vitality presently meeting the needs of those who reside there and having all indications that they can remain as such. Sustainability doesn't imply growth potential, that's a matter of concern for those who are advocates and implementors of enterprise and economic development—and industrial development.

In addition to meaning a place of community, the term is used to refer to groups sharing common characteristics, for example, an urban community or the business community.

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What is community based economic development?

Community based economic development is an expression that zeros in on the link between the the Enterprise and Economic Development Glossary definition of a community and definition of economic development or, in the latter case, any one of the definitions of economic development that you might choose from the Economic Development Network website collection. We (who we are) originally found the subject expression in the following quote:

(Community economic development) …sometimes called "community-based economic development" and abbreviated as CED, specifies the geographic target of economic development activities as a rather limited locality. (A now missing PDF file identified online at www.ediblestrategies.com/fsd/CED_phrases.pdf was the source of the quote. The quote was attributed there to one Stewart Perry).

Perry's definition of community economic development was … a comprehensive, wide-ranging program of activities for the overall improvement of the locality as a place to live and work. Because it is comprehensive in approach, it can include virtually any activity that might be seen locally as community improvement (Yet another now unavailable source of the quote: http://cedworks.com/article_3.html).

Places seeking economic development typically set objectives for ... the creation of jobs and wealth, and the improvement of quality of life. Economic development can also be described as a process that influences growth and restructuring of an economy to enhance the economic well being of a community (source of quote).

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