Community Capital

Communities and the people in them do not live in isolation and commmunity capital is the term used to describe the inter-relationship between the natural, social and built capital that each community shares in a unique way. We have chosen to use the sustainability pyramid as a graphic representation of each type of capital and how they relate to each other in describing community capital.

At the base of the pyramid sustaining the structure is natural capital: the assets of natural environment including renewable and non-renewable resources, the services the ecosystem provides and the life-enhancing qualities of nature.

Interacting with natural capital, we have human and social capital: the people in a society, their skills, education and health, as well as their ability to cooperate and work together.

As an outcome of this interaction we have built and financial capital : manufactured goods, equipment, buildings, roads, water supply systems jobs, information resources and the credit and debt of a community.