At the end of the day, all impact is local. Creating impact means understanding the complex web of local relationships in which it takes place. Scaling that impact requires a deep understanding of where those complex local environments overlap- and where they don’t.

That’s why the Polycentric Solutions track at the 2011 Social Capital Markets Conference is being built around two living case studies: Berjeson, Gotenborg, Sweden and Cherryland, CA, USA. Though separated by half the globe, these two communities have numerous parellells that SOCAP attendees will be leveraging in hands-on problem solving throughout the conference.

Meet the Communities

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Located outside of once-industrial Gotenborg, the neighborhood of Bergson was originally built as a car-free suburb for Swedish factory workers. Now the factories are closed and the population is primarily Muslim immigrants, many of whom are refugees from places such as Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Named after the orchards that once grew there, Cherrylands is an unincorporated town in Alameda County. The 40% of the population are recent immigrants, a disproportionate number of whom are undocumented.

Economic struggles are a central challenge for both communities. Bergson is situated far from Gotenborg’s economic centers and Cherryland’s unemployment rate was at 15.8% as of July 2011. In Bergson these struggles have heightened already-smouldering ethnic tensions with native Swedes, in Cherryland they have contributed to gang activity and area’s clout in
regional decisionmaking.

Both regions laud their tremendous cultural diversity as a core strength. Eager to hold on to their native traditions, recent migrants in both neighborhoods have organized a wide range of festivals and other cultural events. Numerous community centers serve as local hubs of social capital, and community leaders report a healthy “soft infrastructure” of community support.

Both regions are also bestowed with significant access to open landscape. Bergeson still sits near the majestic natural beauty that inspired its founding, and Cherryland is eagerly pursuing urban farming initiatives to reclaim its agricultural roots.

These kinds of regional improvement initiatives are being spearheaded by forward-thinking public administrators laser-focused on their regions success. Cherryland’s activist-turned-supervisor, Nate Miley, has named the area his “adopted community” within the larger territory that he represents. Like his equivalents in Bergeson, he struggles for a voice at regional table dominated by more affluent communities with deep political pockets.

In the Polycentrism track we’ll be examining these communities in depth, uncovering parellels with communities across the globe and cross-pollinating cutting-edge solutions. How can these communities leverage one another’s resources and expertise? How can they learn from each other? How can leaders in these communities receive cooperation and support from their peers around the world?