What is a Transition Town?

A Transition Town is a town which aims to respond to peak oil and climate change by building a better way of life and increasing local resilience to these twin impacts. The idea is to involve the entire community in moving the town in a positive and creative way to become less energy and carbon intensive, more localised, self-sufficient and sustainable.

The Transition Town movement is also known as the Transition Movement because the principles also apply to cities and villages for example. An alternative name for a Transition Town is a Transition Initiative.

What is Involved?

A Transition Town community works together to look peak oil and climate change squarely in the eye and address this question: for all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how do we significantly increase resilience to mitigate the effects of peak oil and drastically reduce carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change?

The question is answered by going through a comprehensive and creative process of:

• raising awareness of peak oil, climate change and the need to undertake a community lead process to rebuild resilience and reduce carbon;
• connecting with existing groups in the community;
• building bridges to local government;
• connecting with other transition initiatives;
• forming groups to look at all the key areas of life, e.g. food, energy, transport, health and livelihoods;
• starting projects aimed at building people's understanding of resilience, carbon issues and community engagement; and
• eventually launching a community defined and implemented "Energy Descent Action Plan" over a 15 to 20 year time scale.

This process results in a coordinated range of projects across all these areas of life that strive to rebuild the resilience we have lost as a result of cheap oil and reduces drastically the community's carbon emissions.

A Transition Town local to Medway is Sevenoaks and their web site, www.transitiontownsevenoaks.org, gives an idea of what is involved.

How is the Transition Movement Different to the Sustainable Communities Act?

The Transition Movement and the Sustainable Communities Act are two different ways to tackle similar issues, however, these are the main differences:

• the Transition Movement is community lead with political support provided where necessary but the Sustainable Communities Act is politically led with community support being an integral part of the process;
• a Transition Initiative is started by members of the community whereas the Sustainable Communities Act can only be used if the local council decides to opt-in to the Act;
• the Sustainable Communities Act potentially tackles a wider range of issues; and
• the Sustainable Communities Act is a law but the Transition Movement has no such standing.

Separately, the Transition Movement and the Sustainable Communities Act are very powerful methods of bringing about positive change in local communities but when used to complement each other the potential for positive change is truly amazing.

The Transition Town Sevenoaks web site, www.transitiontownsevenoaks.org, provides examples of the positive changes they wish to bring to their community. For examples of how the Sustainable Communities Act can also bring about positive changes for local communities, please visit www.localworks.org/node/66.

Is Medway Part of the Transition Movement?

Yes - a Transition Town Medway group has recently formed. For further details, please contact Oscar Franklin via transitionmedway@yahoo.co.uk.

Nationally the Green Party supports the Transition Movement and the Medway Green Party is supporting Transition Town Medway.