Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative

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The Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI) is a community-led planning and economic development organization. We are leading an effort to build an equitable, sustainable, and democratic local economy that creates wealth and ownership for low-income people of color—what we call economic democracy. We are doing this by developing a network of diverse partners and community enterprises that currently includes four major projects: A Planning and Policy Lab, a center for economic democracy planning and policy development—by, with, and for the Bronx The BronXchange, a marketplace that connects Bronx institutions and nonprofits with local businesses in order to localize their purchasing and build community wealth. The Bronx Innovation Factory is a center for advanced manufacturing led by women and people of color, focused on shared wealth creation and innovations that matter for Bronx residents. Our Economic Democracy Learning Center, a leadership development institute that prepares stakeholders of all types to lead this new future; cultivates a culture rooted in economic democracy principles; and advances the overall field of economic democracy based on experiences in the Bronx and inspirational examples from around the world. All together, BCDI is a transformative model for urban economic development that can serve as an example for other communities across the US and the world