http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ Transition Towns Forum: Forum: TransitionGroup: Cities - Recent Topics en Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:48:47 +0000 http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/working-on-an-edap#post-2922 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:02:28 +0000 Doly 2922@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Recently the Energy Group of Transition Brighton &#38; Hove got an email from Ben saying among other things that:</p> <p>1. a Transition Initiative isn't ready to even think of starting an EDAP if<br /> it doesn't have a fully rounded representation across of all the key areas -<br /> food, energy, transport, heart &#38; soul, arts, housing, local authority<br /> liaison, economics &#38; livelihoods etc</p> <p>2. one of the prerequisites for starting an EDAP is that all the<br /> contributing groups - and that should include all the themed areas within an<br /> initiative - should:<br /> - have got a few projects under their belt<br /> - fully understand resilience and carbon reduction<br /> - are hooked into all the existing networks and groups that can<br /> contribute to that area</p> <p>On the other hand, about a year and a half ago I asked Shaun Chamberlin what he thought<br /> about starting the EDAP when some people wanted to start and others said<br /> they weren't interested in participating. His reply was: "I agree that if a<br /> group of people are ready to start EDAP work then they shouldn't feel held<br /> back - different Transition Initiatives have gone through the 12 steps in a<br /> number of different orders. They are guidelines more than hard rules." I<br /> remember that at the time, the Transition Network seemed very much in favour<br /> that all Transition initiatives should start thinking of doing an EDAP, and<br /> my understanding was that the Transition Timeline project started exactly to<br /> encourage them to get started.</p> <p>Based on that, the Energy Group and some other interested people in TB&#38;H<br /> started working on the EDAP. And the Energy Group still very much wants to<br /> work on it. Some recent reactions by people on the Energy Group have been: </p> <p>"The Energy Group does generally tick those boxes Ben mentioned and the<br /> Energy Group's work on the EDAP is legitimate. As the Energy Group is the only one that has been working on it then its<br /> portion of the B&#38;H EDAP could be presented to the main Transition B&#38;H body for consideration as a work in progress - other sub-groups can then comment on it / add to it / be inspired by it / build on it or, well, even discount it!"</p> <p>"Use the Blitzkrieg method. If you meet an obstacle, bypass it."</p> <p>"Don't be put off by Ben, who projects his own attitudes on to others (such as TB&#38;H) What Ben really means is: 'Ben isn't ready to start thinking about an EDAP'. That is OK. Ben doesn't have to start thinking about an EDAP. However, Ben has no right to stop others who have been thinking about an EDAP for years to produce an EDAP in the name of TB&#38;H."</p> <p>I'd like to know your opinions on starting an EDAP. </p> <p>1. Do you agree with Ben's statement?<br /> 2. If you do, what do you think the people who have already started on an EDAP should do? Are they supposed to stop?<br /> 3. If you think work in the EDAP should stop until the whole Transition initiative is ready, what if the people who have started working don't want to stop? Is the EDAP supposed to be a monolithic document that must be produced as a whole, or is there room for several drafts of several parts to be developed and discussed? I always envisioned the EDAP as a constant work in progress, always evolving, but Ben's view seems to imply something like all-or-nothing.</p> <p>As I have told you before, this issue has already caused tensions in TB&#38;H, and it's one of the reasons the Energy Group is unhappy with other groups. People outside the Energy Group have tried to stop the work of the Energy Group on the EDAP on the grounds that the other groups aren't ready yet. </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/questions-on-the-evolution-of-transition-initiatives#post-2796 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:01:21 +0000 Doly 2796@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>I was until recently the coordinator of the Energy Descent Action Plan for Transition Brighton &#38; Hove. I have recently quit TB&#38;H because I couldn't stand any more the kind of internal politics I could see going on. A number of people have suggested that the way forward could be to split the organization. I agree with the general principle that people should try their hardest to resolve their problems before considering a split, but there has been a long history of conflict already. It's got to the point where some people are thinking of hard choices and wondering what would be the consequences of those choices. </p> <p>In short, I would like to have the input of my peers in other Transition cities on the general questions raised by this, specifically:</p> <p>1. Is it acceptable to have more than one Transition initiative in one location? (I'm not talking about neighbourhood groups here, the neighbourhood groups aren't clearly developed in TB&#38;H)<br /> 2. For those who think it isn't acceptable to have more than one Transition initiative in one location, how would you decide which of the groups is the "real" Transition in case of a split?<br /> 3. How would you decide if a Transition initiative has drifted far enough from the original purpose that it isn't a Transition initiative any longer? (This could help in answering question 2, if it was established that one or both the groups are no longer a Transition initiative)</p> <p>I have asked Ben Brangwyn these questions and so far he has only answered the first one. To elaborate a bit more on the questions:</p> <p>1. Is it acceptable to have more than one Transition initiative in one location?</p> <p>Ben's response has been the following:</p> <p>I'm against two Transition Initiatives operating in the same geographical locale. There are plenty of reasons for this:</p> <p>1. pretty much any official body - local authority, funder, potential partners - will be confounded by the notion of their being two such groups. Funding will dry up for each group. Each group will have difficulty coordinating with the local authority. Partners will steer clear of both. I say this with some authority, having experienced in a prior role trying to coordinate with two competing groups that should have been working together. It was a nightmare.</p> <p>2. the public will be confused and will attribute very reduced levels of credibility to each group. </p> <p>3. thinking about initiatives beyond Brighton &#38; Hove, their credibility could be undermined by anyone who wants to stick the boot into Transition by citing the squabbling internal politics of one of the potential flagship initiatives.</p> <p>4. re all the "things" Transition Network (for no financial gain) provides for the "official" initiatives: webspace (new system coming on line very soon), partnering on funding bids, preferential public liability insurance scheme, speaker support, high visibility and connectivity via our new platform. There's no way we can provide it for the thousands of other groups out there - and that would include your breakaway group - so we have to reserve it to the manageable quantity of Transition Initiatives.</p> <p>My reply to this would be:</p> <p>On the first three points, I think any split is a symptom of some serious underlying problems, and those underlying problems are likely to cause all these three issues - confusion in official bodies, the public, and credibility problems - before any split is made "official". I know in TB&#38;H it's already happened. Luckily, it appears that official bodies have been quite happy to deal with three grant applications filled in with completely different details for the Food Group, the Energy Group and core TB&#38;H, without complaining about the discrepancies. Complaints from members of the public that initially wanted to join and then found it all too confusing have been constant. And the same can be said for credibility.</p> <p>On the last point, I think the Transition Network has that problem already! The answer is, obviously, a tree structure and subsidiarity. Transition initiatives already are grouping themselves by regions. All Transition initiatives within a city would have to negotiate between themselves some way of coordinating, and it would be the coordination body who would have most of the contact with the Transition Network. There would probably be little difference in practice between a city initiative that successfully managed to grow without breaks and one that first broke up, then managed to renegotiate some kind of agreement, except history.</p> <p>Finally, I don't hold a lot of hope for Transition ever becoming a significant movement in cities if the accepted point of view is that there can be only one. The Transition training material works fine for groups of up to 100 people, but there is no clue on how you can grow your membership to say 1,000 active people (not just people in a mailing list, but actively working for Transition). And you would need at least that to say you had an impact on 1% of the population of a city. </p> <p>I actually have a few ideas on the subject because I have researched quite a bit. I have good reasons to say that Transition in cities needs a rather decentralized structure, and if the Transition city initiative refuses to be decentralized to a great degree, it will suffocate and never grow to a size that can make a real impact in a city. I've always defended that Transition is a movement, not an organization. One of the things I never liked very much about TB&#38;H is that some of the most influential people were determined to see it as a separate entity that would have dealings with other environmental organizations in the city, a small, tight, well defined group. While I'd prefer to see it as a loosely knit bunch of people that would promote a certain way of seeing things across everyone in the city, pretty much like feminism or Buddhism, and there is nothing stopping anyone from seeing themselves as part of the Transition while they were still doing whatever they were doing already in whatever green group they were in. And if a Transition initiative in a city isn't going that way and key people inside it refuse to go that way, what can be done except starting another Transition initiative in the same city?</p> <p>2. For those who think it isn't acceptable to have more than one Transition initiative in one location, how would you decide which of the groups is the "real" Transition in case of a split?</p> <p>The difficulty of answering that question is another reason I'm in favour of allowing more than one Transition initiative in one location. The case of Transition Brighton &#38; Hove is clearly very difficult, because the split is along these lines:</p> <p>Talking of separation - Energy Group, Buildings &#38; Construction Group, all the people actively working on the EDAP, and a good number of people that have already abandoned TB&#38;H because they saw it as ineffective but would be happy to re-join if there is positive action<br /> Hanging on - Food Group, Livelihoods Group, the current chair of TB&#38;H, the people that have been most involved in Transition training and networking with other initiatives, a number of people not clearly affiliated to any group</p> <p>Different criteria give different answers. The group talking of separating can argue that they are the "real" Transition because they have been working on an EDAP, they have kept a clear focus on climate change and peak oil, and all their actions have been clearly related to this. The group hanging on can argue that they are not the ones talking of separation, that they are the largest group (but this is difficult to measure because there is no clearly defined membership, and a lot of people have been coming and going), and that they have been involved in a lot of training and networking in the name of Transition.</p> <p>3. How would you decide if a Transition initiative has drifted far enough from the original purpose that it isn't a Transition initiative any longer?</p> <p>I imagine that the same criteria that are used to decide if a group that approaches for the first time the Transition Network can be a Transition initiative, should be used to decide if a group is no longer a Transition initiative. I understand that the Transition Network has been quite generous in agreeing to give the Transition initiative status to different groups, so I don't expect that the criteria for new Transition initiatives would be much help to decide in the case of a split. </p> <p>Your thoughts? </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/building-a-positve-future-for-bristol-after-peak-oil#post-2773 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:23:24 +0000 Jane 2773@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>A few months ago, Transition Bristol was involved in contributing to this very significant report. Produced by Bristol's Peak Oil Task Force, it now appears on the Bristol Partnership website. As well as being very important for Bristol, this report is certain to provide a useful reference point for all those working at Transition in cities. </p> <p>Covering utilities, healthcare, food, transport, social cohesion, emergency planning, public services and the local economy, this report highlights Bristol's vulnerabilities to the effects of peak oil in all these areas. </p> <p>The report can be viewed here: </p> <ul> <strong><a href="http://www.bristolgreencapital.org/sites/default/files/Peak%20Oil%20Report_0.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.bristolgreencapital.org/sites/default/files/Peak%20Oil%20Report_0.pdf</a></strong> </ul> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/hints-for-city-hubs-and-hubs-in-general#post-2116 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:02:18 +0000 sinergyinaction 2116@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Hi<br /> we are on the endeavour to set up a city hub group for the city of Barcelona<br /> It would be great to have some feedback from people in a similar position<br /> about what would be a minimal set of tasks that this hub should at least<br /> accomplish in order to exist.</p> <p>Most probably the functionality of the hub will be determined by the situation<br /> on the ground, and the vision we have for this particular city toprogress toward transition. We have so far detected a few:<br /> 1) Since the trend seems to be that cities are best approached "chunck by chunk", like by the district or even by the street, one such task could be to go to the most promising districts (barrios), those that have already grassroot groups etc. and explain them what TT is all about, etc, ie: act as catalizers of more local initiatives + awarene raising.<br /> 2) support these local groups that wish to start a TI in their "barrio" and learn what they actually need from us<br /> 3) maintain contact with other hubs and the TN<br /> 4) share and spread info about the local initiatives of the different "barrios"<br /> 5) may be organize events so that they can know each other<br /> 6) Training?<br /> 7) localize TT ti the local culture<br /> 8) Perhaps start getting in touch with the local council?<br /> 8) what else?</p> <p>What do we need toi do in order to be accepted as an official transition hub?<br /> Any help would be appreciated, especially if you have anything else to share from your personal experience.<br /> All the best<br /> Antonio </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/how-can-cities-transition#post-1918 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:14:11 +0000 markobostonusa 1918@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>I am just learning about Transition and thinking about trying to organize a local group here in a suburb of Boston in the US. My hometown is part of a very urban, densely populated region of the States stretching from here through New York to Washington, DC. This region is not unlike England in size and population. So I am looking for thoughts from comrades in England, where Transition has gone farthest, on a concern of mine: </p> <p>Our cities are a product of fossil fuels. Their very raison d'etre is to serve a fossil-fueled economy. How do they transition to a future without fossil fuels? Where will the food come from to feed the millions? Obviously allotments in city parks will not be enough. There is not enough farmland or open land of any kind within a reasonable trip by riverboat or horse-drawn or bicycle-drawn cart to feed the population. </p> <p>Putting that aside, let's assume somehow enough food is found to feed all the people. What will they be able to offer in exchange? There will not be a need for investment bankers, office assistants of many stripes, marketing directors, systems administrators and so on, who currently bring money into city economies that goes back out to pay for food from around the world. What is a viable economic model for big cities in an energy descent? </p> <p>These are issues that will face London, Birmingham, Manchester, and other large English cities. I know something about the Southeast. I suspect that the Home Counties will have a challenge feeding their own people and won't have much left over for London. Every region of England outside the Southeast has large cities that will consume all of the food that they can produce. Who will feed London or the West Midlands or West Yorkshire? What will these urban areas offer in return? Does anyone have any ideas that they could share? I am committed to helping bring transition to my region, but I want to have realistic ideas to present. Otherwise, I'm not sure how attractive Transition will be to city dwellers. And I think we need city dwellers on board to make this work politically.</p> <p>Thanks in advance for your ideas! </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/turkish-translation-of-general-leaflet#post-1890 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:32:02 +0000 joholondon 1890@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Dear all,<br /> I'm new to this forum.<br /> The Transition Finsbury Park flyer can easily be adapted for other TIs. I want to put the English and Turkish version on here. Where can I upload them?<br /> Cheers,<br /> Jo </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/transition-birmingham#post-573 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:20:50 +0000 treaclemine 573@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Greetings,</p> <p>A loose coalition called 'Transition Birmingham' organised a well-attended showing of End of Suburbia on Thu 26 Jun 2008. About 50 people - mostly connected to existing 'sustainability' networks - came, and voted to watch the first 52 mins (stopping for the hydrogen section) before discussing how Birmingham and Transition.</p> <p>About 20 people met again under the 'Transition Birmingham' banner on Tue 15 Jul 2008, as a working meeting. Two email lists have been set up - Transition-Brum-Discuss and Transition-Brum-News - with a total of nearly 70 subscribers. </p> <p>There will probably be meetings every 2 weeks in Birmingham as people develop the Transition idea for this city. There seems to be an initial concensus that a Transition Hub supporting Transition Neighbourhoods is a good starting model for Birmingham.</p> <p>The next Transition Birmingham event will be a Fundraising Social BBQ on Sun 31 Aug 2008 at the beautiful Martineau Gardens in Birmingham. Please email <a href="mailto:transitioncitybirmingham@riseup.net">transitioncitybirmingham@riseup.net</a> for more information.</p> <p>Best wishes to everyone. </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/glasgow-a-dear-green-place#post-1289 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:51:27 +0000 NeilG42UK 1289@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Hello - it has been 15 months since Ben came to town to spread the Transition word. Things started with a flurry of activity which all went quiet back in the summer as we became a bit overwhelmed with the concept of Transition Glasgow. However, people went back to their communities and started from the grassroots up and things are happening again - Transition Garrioch, Go Govanhill, Toryglen, Southside - lots of little pockets of local neighbourhood activity. We have revamped the social networking site - <a href="http://ttglasgow.ning.com" rel="nofollow">http://ttglasgow.ning.com</a> - to act as a central point for all transition related activity in Glasgow and we are keen for more people to get involved so if you live in the Glasgow area come along and help make it a truly Dear Green Place. </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/contribute-to-transition-guide-to-cities#post-1287 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:00:57 +0000 asha 1287@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Dear City Transitioner,</p> <p>During the Transition Cities conference held in Nottingham last November it became apparent that Transitioning in a city context is quite a different game to doing so in a town the size of say Totnes, involving particular issues and challenges not yet explored in previous Transition Town publications and guides. Following the conference, the Transition Network has begun producing a guide book, to be published by Green Books, to support city-based Transition Initiatives.</p> <p>To ensure that the book is as relevant and useful as possible we are hoping that those already involved in city initiatives will input into the contents as much as possible, sharing with us the issues, questions, challenges and needs that have arisen so far in your transition processes particularly due to your city context, along with your success stories and any tips you may have for other Transition Cities. This is essentially your book – you are the first few people in the world with any Transition City experience... so you are the experts on this!</p> <p>We welcome contributions from all city initiatives, whether you're well established, only just started, streaming ahead, or struggling with challenges. This is all part of the learning curve for all of us. If you're interested in helping the Transition Network and other Transition City initiatives by contributing to the book, please contact me via email or phone as listed at the bottom, and I will send you a questionnaire that has been developed to gain an initial picture from you of the common issues and needs arising for city transitioners. </p> <p>In addition, we're also looking to include in the book loads of photos, event posters or any other relevant documentation from Transition City initiatives. If you have anything that you could contribute please send them to the email address below.</p> <p>Many many thanks in advance for your time and thoughts,</p> <p>Asha Bee</p> <p><a href="mailto:asha@eatthesuburbs.org">asha@eatthesuburbs.org</a><br /> 07942 598 155<br /> 05601 531 882 (Transition Network) </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/cities-conference-bbc-film#post-1203 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:07:39 +0000 audaye 1203@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Here is the link to the BBC's inside out programme that did the filming when we were at the conference. skip the first seven and a half minutes unless you're keen on caravans.</p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00h6wxd/Inside_Out_East_Midlands_28_01_2009/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00h6wxd/Inside_Out_East_Midlands_28_01_2009/</a></p> <p>Apparently we are "disorganised and middle class", they used the images of us arranging ourselves in order of age/location etc to illustrate this, there is some irony in this! </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/transition-brum-has-a-wiki-site#post-966 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:52:25 +0000 ganga 966@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Hi there, </p> <p>Happy to let you know that things have been progressing in Transition City Birmingham and we now have a wiki site at: <a href="http://transition-brum.wikispot.org" rel="nofollow">http://transition-brum.wikispot.org</a></p> <p>We have regular central monthly meetings plus extra events such as film screenings, talks and barbeques. Gradually localised activities are sprouting up too.</p> <p>Please get in touch if you'd like to become involved - the wiki site has all Contact details and meetings venues plus an Events page for upcoming activities to attend.</p> <p>A few of us will participate in the Transition Cities Conference 27-28 Nov. and look forward to meeting others who are attempting to reach out to large populations over large areas.</p> <p>Best wishes, Ganga </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/ethnic-diversity-in-transition#post-455 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:40:17 +0000 treaclemine 455@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Greetings,</p> <p>Amanda Baker from the Transition Birmingham mulling process here.</p> <p>Birmingham is a very culturally and ethnically diverse city. Sincere concerns have been expressed in various quarters that, for whatever reason, Transition is currently not very ethnically diverse. </p> <p>Can anyone provide some insight into Transition initiatives which are successfully reflecting the diversity in an ethnically mixed area?</p> <p>Many thanks,</p> <p>Amanda </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/transition-sheffield#post-327 Tue, 06 May 2008 14:51:34 +0000 chris 327@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>There seem to be a few people in Sheffield interested in getting something going and Transition Towns are on the agenda of the Tuesday 13th May meeting of the Sheffield Campaign Against Climate Change, <a href="http://lti.jot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://lti.jot.com/</a> which is to be held in Highfield Library, 7.30 – 9.30 pm -- see the note at the end of the March meeting minutes: <a href="http://lti.jot.com/WikiHome/Get%20involved" rel="nofollow">http://lti.jot.com/WikiHome/Get%20involved</a> </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/advice-needed#post-368 Fri, 23 May 2008 10:38:12 +0000 citrus 368@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>hello everyone. i was wondering if anyone can offer me some advice about what is becoming a niggling issue in the transition project i am a part of? </p> <p>there is a very established and rather wonderful environmental-issue based centre in the town i live in. the transition process was however started seperately by myself and my partner. we looked very hard to see evidence of an emerging TT project and found none, including at the centre. very few people had heard of the idea, so we started a group independantly of any organisations. we didn't have a clue what we were doing to be frank but we wanted something to happen. </p> <p>since then the group has formed and is developing, and includes representatives of the centre. we have held some meetings there, but not all, so as to prevent TT becoming sidelined as just another green project in a host of many. also we are trying to move around town so that meetings are accessible to as many people as possible. also they host a page on their website about us which is currently our only web presence.</p> <p>unfortunately the TT project seems to be attracting the ire of established environmentalists (termed 'professional environmentalists' in one email we received which i found very distressing: should my work count less because i am not being paid??)here because we are not a project based at the centre, nor do we hold each and every event there. </p> <p>we have received some very terse emails suggesting that it is divisive of us to be working 'against' the centre and to be effectively snubbing it. these comments have come from different quarters so i can only presume this is a widely spread rumour. we have worked with several organisations to date and are careful to credit them wherever applicable. it seems though that without mentioning the centre on each and every communication/poster/flyer and preferably holding every event there (even when it's not suitable) we will continue to receive these comments. </p> <p>i understand some of these issues may have arisen because apparently some work was happening at the centre around TT before my partner and i put flyers and posters up, but nothing was mentioned to us even though we asked specifically at the centre before taking any action. </p> <p>so i suppose i'm wondering how we might find a way to dampen the rumour, without compromising the TT process by becoming embedded in another organisation which already runs many projects. or am i looking at this is completely the wrong way? any ideas would be very gratefully received! </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/canadian-citys-peak-oil-report#post-601 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:46:03 +0000 benbrangwyn 601@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Excellent report on Peak Oil by the Planning and Building Director of the city of Burnaby in Canada (700,000 population). It's from 2006, but is still highly relevant.</p> <p>Click <strong><a href="http://postcarboncities.net/files/report_burnaby_global%20peak%20in%20oil%20production_11Jan06.pdf">here</a></strong>, or use the link below:<br /> <a href="http://postcarboncities.net/files/report_burnaby_global%20peak%20in%20oil%20production_11Jan06.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://postcarboncities.net/files/report_burnaby_global%20peak%20in%20oil%20production_11Jan06.pdf</a> </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/the-carrot-mob-idea#post-370 Fri, 23 May 2008 21:13:41 +0000 JudithN 370@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Check out this video for a fun, community-oriented technique to increase sustainability in cities (San Francisco-style):</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUz0kM1u_jk" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUz0kM1u_jk</a> </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/the-problems-of-cities-compared-to-towns#post-242 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:02:27 +0000 csquirrel 242@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>The experience we've had so far in Brighton is that raising awareness of transition towns in cities is quite different from doing so in small towns. In smaller places if you put on a talk or a film you can be pretty sure you will get an audience that is a greater proportion of the population of your town than in a city, because the talk or film will be a much more visible event, maybe even the only thing going on that week. In a city there is so many more events to compete with. </p> <p>We've held a few events so far but may have made the mistake of thinking that because we put them on, people will come. So one suggestion I want to make at the moment is a new approach to holding events – that we don't just put them on, advertise them and hope that people will come. Instead I think there should be connections made with particular organisations who are invited to the event. Perhaps an event is particularly tailored towards schools, for example, with invitations to the environmental clubs at schools to come and take part (most schools have one of these now). Or teaming up with an existing venture that's trying to do the same thing. </p> <p>In my opinion this is the way that cities overcome the problems of awareness raising, because although it is difficult to raise the profile of transition towns above the clamour of everything else going on, cities have in their favour that there are many other already existing enterprises that we can connect with. </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/starting-out#post-218 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:31:59 +0000 treaclemine 218@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Greetings,</p> <p>I'm involve in the mulling process that we're calling 'Transition City Birmingham?'. I was unable to be at the recent conference, however. I am very keen to hear what particular ideas are emerging for Transition in Cities. How are other Transition Cities moving on from mulling?</p> <p>Many thanks,</p> <p>Amanda 'treaclemine' Baker in Birmingham </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/the-issue-of-suburbia#post-347 Thu, 15 May 2008 04:51:14 +0000 RuthWallsgrove 347@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>G'day,</p> <p>Meeting with Penny Pyett and Sue Mossman of Permaculture North &#38; West (Sydney) respectively yesterday, Sue raised the issue of our Western suburbs – and by extension, the question of suburbia generally. </p> <p>Sydney basin has an expanding ring of suburbia that lies mostly to the West, because of geography (the basin is ringed by mountains and forests) and the history of development along rivers and radial train lines out from Sydney city itself, which lies on the (east) coast. </p> <p>The suburbs are a concern. Business as usual for people who live a long way from their jobs &#38; public transport (and further than walking or biking distance from shops and social amenities) looks a worry. But then the transition model doesn’t depend on business as usual. </p> <p>‘McMansions’ are rarely energy efficient – often with quite a lot of internal space and with large inefficient windows because they are not oriented north or, if they are, are not shaded in summer. They probably don’t have useful thermal density because they are not very solid (or as someone who builds passive solar houses said to me, they have thermal mass, insulation and reflective surfaces exactly where they shouldn’t, or are even ‘inside out’). Retrofitting them would be an interesting challenge.</p> <p>But the suburbs are not doomed for lack of space to grow food, generate energy, collect and recycle water and produce goods. They have plenty of space, if not always in their own gardens. Many in suburbia here still belong to unions and may well belong to decent churches, so there are communication channels and community ideals.</p> <p>Many of them will actually be within easier reach of farms than inner city dwellers – and only a generation away from living on the land. People in suburbia may even live at the right density to grow &#38; produce enough locally but close enough to co-opt their nearest mall as a distribution centre.</p> <p>Those of us who want to bring about transition for the Sydney Basin need to support communities to develop a powerful and attractive vision for their suburbs.</p> <p>Anyone else already developing such a model? </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/transition-south-liverpool-2#post-254 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:48:21 +0000 Northp 254@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Hi, greetings from South Liverpool. We started just before christmas with some films, and were amazed at the response. Many of the people who came knew each other and the emails really went viral. I think this as we had a good venue in the part of Liverpool where a lot of green-minded folk live, we have a Green councillor etc. Someone at the first meeting said that they had been trying to run events in the centre of town, with no success - but it could have been that there was not much publicity. We have also been grappling with a few questions - how to transition a whole city, especially a city like Liverpool that has had hard times for getting on 50 years and where there are still huge problems that frankly feel like they still need growth. The Cuban example seemed a good alternative. We decided after much 'mulling' to take an approach of 'going to the part of the city where the energy was', and calling ourselves South Liverpool, based on four wards so we are not making claims about representing people we can't substantiate, without being too parochial. As other groups emerge in other parts of Liverpool, we will support them. We might tighten our boundaries, if new groups emerge that are more local. It seems to have been a successful approach for a big city. </p> http://transitiontowns.org/forum/topic/transition-cities#post-248 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:13:15 +0000 nbeglin 248@http://transitiontowns.org/forum/ <p>Hi I'm from Low Carbon Exeter, a transition iniative. We have a steering group of 9 and have been working together for almost a year. Exeter has a population of 120,000. We are sort of working on the basis of running central city events initially - and have had several well attended, and will continue to run these events - even if perhaps they are likely to draw in the more obvious audience. We are also working on connecting with community organisations and offering a talk or film.</p> <p>Be good to keep in touch and keep a look-out for a Transition City networking day! </p>