GDP is like the figure at the bottom of corporate income statements. It represents the volume of economic activity in a community / region / country over a period of time. But most of us would not invest in a company solely on the strength of its sales and production volume last year. We would also look closely at the asset value and liabilities on the company's balance sheet. The "Community Balance Sheet" provides a new way for us to evaluate the assets and liabilities of a community, region, or country. It adds depth to traditional measures of "how our economy performed" by asking "how strong are we today?" This example of the "Community Balance Sheet" (for Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada) uses publicly available data as indicators of the community's assets and liabilities. The indicators are grouped under the "five capitals" of sustainable development (the modern factors of production): social capital, human capital, built capital, financial capital, and natural capital. The "Community Balance Sheet" is licensed under the creative commons (see the sheet for details). Drop me an email if I can help apply this concept in your community.

1. Windsor, Nova Scotia
COMMUNITY BALANCE SHEET
Assets Liabilities
69.9%
M
The crime severity
index is
Social Capital
of residents feel
a strong sense
of belonging
93.4
Health problems limit
G 19.2% employment for
Human Capital
of residents hold
college or university
credentials
34.3%
of residents
O
Total property
assessment is
6.8%
Built Capital
$221 m of dwellings require
major repairs
Average household
income is 20.4%
Financial Capital $46,639 of residents are
classified as
“low income”
Greenhouse gas emissions
46.3%
p
are approximately
Natural Capital
of land is zoned
for agricultural, green,
24.3 tonnes
or common-use (per capita, CO2 equivalent)
The Community Balance Sheet was created by Ryan MacNeil (www.ryanmacneil.com). It can be shared and remixed for non-commercial
purposes, with attribution, provided you share-alike (see the terms of the creative commons license by clicking the icon).

2. Data Sources:
Assets Liabilities
Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community
Social Capital Nova Scotia Community Counts (2008).
Health Survey (2008).
Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community
Human Capital Nova Scotia Community Counts (2006).*
Health Survey (2008).
Service Nova Scotia & Muncicipal
Built Capital Relations’ Annual Report of Municipal Nova Scotia Community Counts (2006).*
Statistics (2009).
Financial Capital Nova Scotia Community Counts (2006).* Nova Scotia Community Counts (2006).*
Town of Windsor’s Integrated Community Environment Canada’s Community
Natural Capital
Sustainability Plan (2010). Information Database (2006).
* These indicators are based on the 2006 Census. If the Government of Canada does not reinstate the long-form census, these
indicators may not available again at a community-level: http://eaves.ca/save-the-census-coalition/
The Community Balance Sheet was created by Ryan MacNeil (www.ryanmacneil.com). It can be shared and remixed for non-
commercial purposes, with attribution, provided you share-alike: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/