Transition towns (also known as the Transition Network or Transition Movement) are a grassroots community network with the aim of equipping communities to deal with the challenges presented by climate change and peak oil [1].
The Transition idea first started in Kinsale, Ireland [2] and the world’s first Transition Town was Totnes, in Devon, UK, where work began in 2006 [3]. Transition Town Totnes was founded by Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande, and following successful projects there and in collaboration with Peter Lipman of Sustrans, the Transition Network was established in 2007 [2, 4]. Its purpose is to inspire, encourage, connect, support and train communities and create initiatives that increase resilience and reduce CO2 emissions [1]; a more detailed description of its aims and activities is available in a document available on the Transition Network website [2]. The network started to grow quickly, rapidly spreading to other countries such as Germany, Australia, Canada, Italy and the Netherlands, among others. The Transition Handbook was published in 2008, followed by further more specific guides [1]. As of November 2012, the projects map on the Transition Towns website shows projects all over the world, with the majority in the UK and rest of Europe [5].
Initiatives cover a wide range of scales, including local initiatives, regional hubs and national support networks, all coordinated worldwide by the Transition Network [2]. Common project areas at a local scale include sustainable food sourcing, reducing transport and fuel usage, minimising household energy consumption, encouraging reusing, repairing and recycling, trading of goods and resources and establishing local currency. Regionally, new and existing initiatives are supported and government and business links are established, while infrastructure, training and business opportunities are coordinated on a national level [2].
Various stages are involved in the creation of a Transition Initiative [2]:
·The initial stage – discussion of the Transition concept between interested people
·The “mulling” stage – the individuals or group involved contact the Transition Network and investigate the materials provided about Transition Towns
·Formal Transition Initiative – the group completes a declaration of intention. This lists guidelines and asks for information about the initiative, and checks that the initiative will be able to proceed successfully. The Initiative then gains formal status.
Anyone interested in starting a Transition Initiative should refer to the Transition Network website to find out what is involved. There are full guides to every stage of the process, including benefits of Transition initiatives [6], getting started [7], building momentum and establishing projects [8], broadening links [9], scaling projects up to social enterprises [10], and the ultimate aim of spreading the Transition concept to a wider stage [11].
[1] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/about
[2] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/sites/default/files/WhoWeAreAndWhatWeDo-lowres.pdf
[3] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/initiatives/totnes
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transition_Towns
[5] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/projects/map
[6] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/why-do-transition
[7] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/starting
[8] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/deepening
[9] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/connecting
[10] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/building
[11] http://www.transitionnetwork.org/daring
