The CDMM Economic Cycle
CDMM is designed around a self-reinforcing local economic cycle. Each stage builds on the last, expanding municipal capacity and community benefit over time.
A Framework Built Around Local Capacity
CDMM is not a single program. It is a flexible development framework that municipalities adapt to their own conditions, priorities, and pace. Six interconnected pillars define the model.
Municipal Ownership of Productive Assets
Municipalities develop and own enterprises that generate ongoing economic activity — grocery stores, fuel stations, housing, and other essential services. Ownership keeps revenue within the community rather than transferring it to distant shareholders.
Permanent Housing & Attainable Homeownership
CDMM prioritizes permanent housing solutions and pathways to homeownership. Municipal land ownership and housing development create long-term community assets and reduce dependence on speculative private markets.
Essential-Service Affordability
When municipalities own essential services, pricing decisions reflect community need rather than profit maximization. Residents gain access to food, fuel, and housing at more stable and affordable rates.
Local Employment & Human Capital
Municipal enterprises create direct local employment. CDMM emphasizes building local skills, training capacity, and career pathways — retaining human capital within the community and reducing outmigration.
Strategic Land Ownership & Wealth Retention
Municipal land ownership is a foundational tool. Land held by the municipality cannot be speculated upon or extracted. It anchors long-term development, supports housing programs, and retains community wealth across generations.
Community Participation & Local Determination
CDMM is not a top-down prescription. Municipalities determine their own priorities and the pace of development. Community participation shapes how the model grows, ensuring it reflects local values and conditions.
CDMM in Practice
Municipal Grocery Autonomy
Municipal Grocery Autonomy (MGA) is a working example of CDMM applied to food systems. Under MGA, municipalities develop and operate grocery stores as public enterprises — contracting directly with local and regional farmers, participating in bulk purchasing arrangements with neighbouring municipalities, and reinvesting operating returns into the local food system. MGA addresses food access, price stability, and local agricultural capacity simultaneously, while keeping grocery spending within the community rather than remitting it to national retail chains.
Explore Municipal Grocery Autonomy →Estimated share of grocery spending that could be retained locally under MGA (scenario estimate)
Estimated local economic multiplier effect of locally retained food spending versus chain-retail outflows (scenario estimate)
Canadian municipalities identified as potential MGA candidates based on population, food-access gaps, and existing municipal capacity (preliminary assessment)
Permanent Housing & Attainable Homeownership
Housing is a central pillar of CDMM. The framework moves beyond rental-only social housing toward permanent ownership pathways — building generational wealth for residents while expanding the municipal asset base. Municipal land ownership provides the foundation: land held publicly cannot be speculated upon, enabling stable, long-term housing development at attainable price points.
Explore Housing & Homeownership →Foundational Homes
Municipally developed homes designed for attainable ownership. Built on municipal land with structures sold to residents at cost-recovery pricing, creating ownership without land speculation.
Municipal Tiny Homes
Compact, high-quality homes on municipal land. Suitable for single residents, couples, and seniors seeking ownership at lower entry costs.
Municipal Land Banking
Strategic acquisition and retention of land for long-term housing and enterprise development. Prevents speculative price escalation and anchors community development capacity.
Community Housing Development
Larger-scale municipal housing projects integrating mixed tenure — ownership, long-term lease, and affordable rental — within a single development framework.
Economic Scenarios & Research
CDMM proposals include structured economic scenarios modelling municipal outcomes over multiple time horizons. Scenarios are presented as estimates and projections, clearly distinguished from established evidence.
Foundation & Feasibility
Initial municipal assessment, enterprise feasibility studies, land inventory, community consultation, and pilot program design.
Enterprise Launch & Early Returns
First municipal enterprises operational. Early employment outcomes, local spending retention, and initial housing program delivery.
Capacity Expansion
Expanded enterprise portfolio, inter-municipal purchasing networks, measurable housing stock growth, and reinvestment cycle established.
Structural Community Resilience
Mature CDMM municipalities demonstrate sustained local wealth retention, diversified municipal revenue, and reduced essential-cost burden for residents.