It's time for Community Incubators
Let’s imagine something new has arrived in the neighborhood—a community incubator. It’s a little like a free health club, if you take health in the broadest sense—i.e., including social and economic health.
You could think of the incubator as working like a golden funnel turned on its side. It’s wide-open at one end (which most business incubators are not really) but it channels and directs the flow to particular places—like toward a good job. Or even a new business you co-own.
The logical home for a program like this is a community hub. You probably know this kind of place. It’s not a community center with yoga classes and senior swimming groups.
An authentic community hub feels grassroots-y and kinda political. It’s a space where people can meet up to organize campaigns, hold meetings, and maybe co-work. Three good examples are ReCity in Durham, the Festival Center in Washington DC, and the new Baltimore Community Commons in that city.
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