Originally written by Meaghan Burkett, posted in LinkedIn.

What I love about Place Based Capital is its versatility—it can be applied to a wide range of community needs and aspirations, from community finance to employment pathways, renewable energy, the circular economy, and more.

Recently, we’ve met with a few communities looking to retain and grow worker housing in ways that are locally led, owned, and governed—strengthening resilience, self-reliance, and shared prosperity.

A place based capital approach to worker housing helps communities move beyond simply building homes to creating long-term, locally controlled solutions that retain workers, attract families, and build resilience. Place Based Capital connects housing to broader community goals—like equity, and self-reliance—by unlocking and managing local and external capital in ways that benefit everyone.

Here’s some examples of how it relates:

– Generate sources of local funding, income, assets, and capital value to support housing development, such as identifying underutilised land and capturing rental income for wider needs.

– Access funding and assets from the community for worker housing projects.

– Set-up, purchase, and own local assets—such as land, housing stock, or modular infrastructure—ensuring community control over essential housing supply and affordability.

– Govern and manage local finance, assets, and housing initiatives through community-led entities, enterprises or partnerships that prioritise local needs and long-term outcomes over short-term profit.

– Activate local investment by enabling residents, businesses, and local organisations to co-invest in worker housing developments, retaining local ownership and value.

– Pool community capital for collective investment in worker housing, spreading risk, building resilience, and enabling the scale required for viable development.

– Use local capital strategically to plan and develop worker housing that supports workforce retention, meets diverse needs, and connects to broader infrastructure and economic development goals.

– Reinvest and redistribute benefits from worker housing initiatives—such as rental surpluses or equity gains—back into the community to fund maintenance, new developments, or other priorities.

– Partner and co-invest with external actors like government, developers, philanthropists, and impact investors to align support and scale initiatives without compromising local leadership and priorities.

– Integrate all these elements into a cohesive Place-Based Capital system, ensuring housing is not a standalone intervention, but part of a broader community-led development strategy that enhances prosperity and wellbeing.

By applying a Place Based Capital lens, communities can take charge of their housing futures—shifting from dependency to self-determination. Worker housing becomes more than shelter; it becomes a catalyst for economic stability, wellbeing, and generational resilience.