PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Project Name: Transition Towns
Project Type:
1) urban planning design strategy
Project Mission/Goal:
2) increase awareness of the environment and/or address climate change
Project Description:
Transition Initiatives creates a positive vision of communities in a world with less cheap abundant energy, changing climate and a changed social, environmental and economic environment. The focus is on creating the world we would like to see for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. Once the goal is established, communities backtrack to identify the steps necessary to get there.
Transition Towns starts when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community gather with a shared concern: how can our community respond to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change?
A comprehensive and creative process results in setting forth a plan whereby a community can mitigate the effects of climate change and peak oil in a 10-20 year time-span. Government alliances, raising awareness, community networking and re-evaluating the key areas of life (food, energy, transport, health, heart & soul, economics & livelihoods, etc) are integral to implementing this 'energy descent' movement. The focus is reducing the carbon footprint - and equally as importantly, the mindset - of entire communities as they respond to our planet's needs.
Transition Towns is a social experiment on a massive scale. It has been implemented in nearly 200 cities. For a comprehensive listing, visit: http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TransitionCommunities
Background:
The Transition concept was created by Louise Rooney, then popularized by designer, Rob Hopkins, and the students of Kinsale Further Education College with the "Energy Descent Action Plan". The plan looked at creative adaptations in the realms of energy production, health, education, economy and agriculture as a "road map" to a sustainable future for the town. Louise Rooney, a student of Hopkins', developed the Transition Towns concept and presented it to Kinsale Town Council. The councilors adopted the plan in a historic decision to work towards energy independence.
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. The concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, and the combined production rate of a field of related oil wells. The aggregate production rate from an oil field over time usually grows exponentially until the rate peaks and then declines—sometimes rapidly—until the field is depleted. This concept is derived from the Hubbert curve, and has been shown to be applicable to the sum of a nation’s domestic production rate, and is similarly applied to the global rate of petroleum production. Peak oil is often confused with oil depletion; peak oil is the point of maximum production while depletion refers to a period of falling reserves and supply.
Links:
http://www.transitiontowns.org/
http://www.transitiontowns.org.nz/node/1667
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil
http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/5355
http://currystonedesignprize.com/recipients/2009/transition_network
Videos:
Transition Towns: Lewes in Suffolk
Transition Towns: An Interview with Rob Hopkins
Transition Towns: Open Space
Project Details:
Location: Global (England, Scotland, Australia, Wales, New Zealand, Germany, USA and others)
Concept/Lead Architect(s)/Designer(s): Rob Hopkins
Project Architect(s): community groups
Year (s): September 2006 to Present
Client: communities world-wide
User Client: communities world-wide
Number of beneficiaries/users: thousands + ?
Project Phase: Implementation / Experimentation
Major Funding: Funding secured on a case by case basis through private grants, donations and government funding. Transition Towns has created a forum for individual towns / partners to share information about what they are doing and collaborate in fund-raising where appropriate: http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/funding-co-ordination
Nominated by Satu Jackson
