alexia coke: transition tales: framing in the transition town movement
DESCRIPTION
Presentation at the STEPS Conference 2010 - Pathways to Sustainability: Agendas for a new politics of environment, development and social justice http://www.steps-centre.org/events/stepsconference2010.htmlTRANSCRIPT
Transition Tales: Framing in the Transition Town movement
Alexia CokeRESOLVE (ESRC-funded)
Centre for Environmental StrategyUniversity of Surrey
STEPS Conference, 23-24 September 2010
The Transition Movement
• Over 300 ‘official’ initiatives in UK & beyond since 2006
• Motivated by ‘twin’ threats of Peak Oil & Climate Change
• Focus on facilitating local responses • Informed by systems thinking and
‘stages of change’ • Social Movement Organisation –
The Transition Network
Framing the Problem:Exposing Current ‘Myths’
‘‘Dominant myths of todayDominant myths of today– Things are getting betterThings are getting better– Tomorrow will be like today, Tomorrow will be like today,
but bigger and shinierbut bigger and shinier– Economic growth is goodEconomic growth is good– We must keep shoppingWe must keep shopping– Technology will solve all our Technology will solve all our
problemsproblems– There is no alternativeThere is no alternative– You can’t stop progressYou can’t stop progress– Living standards are risingLiving standards are rising– Humans are selfish and Humans are selfish and
greedy by naturegreedy by nature– The market will solve itThe market will solve it– We’re all doomed…’We’re all doomed…’From: www.transitionnetwork.org: Standard Transition Presentation 2010
Framing the Problem:Framing the Problem:The Need for New ‘Cultural stories’The Need for New ‘Cultural stories’
Indu
stri
al A
scen
t
• Energy useEnergy use• Resource useResource use• Environmental degradationEnvironmental degradation• PollutionPollution
Peak Energy
?
Techno-Fantasy
Green-Tech
StabilityGreen-Tech
Stability
Earth
stewardshipPost Mad Max Collapse
Great Grand Children
Agriculture10.000yrs BP
Industrial Revolution
Baby Boom
Pre-industrial culture
Historical Time
Future Time
Creative D
escent
(Perm
aculture)From ‘Standard Transition Presentation’
Framing the SolutionCreating New ‘Cultural Stories’
Use of:
-- positive visioning
-- story-telling
To depict:
• A more connected, sustainable & enjoyable future
Graphic from Transition Training
Framing the Solution
• Catalyst for collective action• Community-based• Relocalisation• Building resilience• Reducing energy
consumption• Fun & enjoyable• Inclusive• ‘Inner’ & ‘outer’ Transition
Framing the SolutionResponses to Peak Oil & Climate Change*
CLIMATE CHANGE
• Climate engineering
• Carbon capture and storage
• International emissions trading
• Climate adaptation• Nuclear power
P O + C C =Systems Re-think
• Planned Relocalisation• Energy Descent
Pathways• Local Resilience
* Slide from Transition Training
PEAK OIL
• Burn everything!relaxed drilling
regulationsbiofuelstar sands and non-
conventional oils
• Resource nationalism
• Resource Wars
Transition as Pathway:The 12 Steps
1. Set up a steering group
2. Raise awareness
3. Lay the foundations
4. Organise a Great Unleashing
5. Form groups
6. Use Open Space
7. Develop visible practical manifestations
8. Facilitate the Great Reskilling
9. Build a bridge to local government
10. Honour the elders
11. Let it go where it wants to go
12. Create an Energy Descent Plan
Transition as PathwayTotnes Energy Descent Action Plan
Hodgson 2010: 98-99
Transition as Process
‘The Transition process offers a positive, solutions-focused approach that draws together the various elements of a community to address this common challenge and sees much of the solution as coming from within, through a process of unlocking what is already there, rather than from experts and consultants coming in from the outside.’
(Hopkins 2008: 136)
Transition as ‘Pattern Language’:An Emergent Framing
From: 2010 Transition Network Conference Guide
A New ‘New Social Movement’?• Middle-class, white (European), & young?
– Large % middle-class, white, middle-aged, ‘Northern’, but not all • Focus on lifestyle politics?
– ‘Inner’ transition focus on individual, but ‘outer’ on collective action– Doing locally, rather than campaigning nationally– Concerns about imposing lifestyle on others– Links to other related movements (e.g. Coop, LETS, etc)
• No redistribution/representation agenda?– Critiqued for non-oppositional stance by some left activists– Social justice raised at many Transition conferences, but not an explicit Network agenda– No-growth position potentially problematic for social justice agenda?
Thank youReferences
Chamberlain, S. (2009): The Transition Timeline for a local, resilient future, Dartington, Green Books
Haxeltine, A. and G. Seyfang (2009): “Transitions for the People: Theory and Practice of ‘Transition’ and ‘Resilience’ in the UK’s Transition Movement. Paper presented at The First European Conference on Sustainability Transitions, July 2009.
Hodgson, J. with R. Hopkins (2010): Transition in Action: Totnes and District 2030 – An Energy Descent Action Plan. Transition Town Totnes
Hopkins, R. (2008): The Transition Handbook: From oil dependency to local resilience. Dartington, Green Books.
North, P. (2009). “The Climate Change and Peak Oil Movements: possibilities and obstacles”. Paper presented at Alternative Futures and Popular Protest Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, 15-17 April 2009