Groups of friends and neighbours meet every few weeks with a practical workbook to make easy changes in how they use energy, water, food, packaging and transport.
Name of Method
Brief description
Groups of friends and neighbours meet every few weeks with a practical workbook to make easy changes in how they use energy, water, food, packaging and transport.
Type/Level of Method
Challenges
Transition Streets aims to strengthen the local economy, reduce the environmental impact, and build resilience for a future with less cheap energy and a changing climate. Anyone can get involved. The work is centred around: increasing low impact affordable housing, sharing skills, creating livelihoods, reducing energy costs and carbon emissions, growing local food economy and working in partnership with other local projects.
Problem, Purpose and Needs
Relevance to Climate Neutrality
Challenges
Thematic Areas
Impact Goals
Issue Complexity
Issue Polarisation
Enabling Condition
Essential Considerations for Commissioning Authorities
Engagement Journey
Governance Models and Approaches
Enabling Conditions
Democratic Purpose
Spectrum of participation
Communication Channels
Actors and Stakeholder Relationships
Participants take turn in hosting the meetings in their home. Importantly, participants themselves agree on the group schedule and share their contact information. Then they discuss their main objectives and possile support.
Participant Numbers
Actors and Stakeholders
Participant Recruitment
Interaction between participants
Format
Social Innovation Development Stage
Scope
Time commitment
Usually based on seven group sessions where the neighbours meet every 3 weeks for 2 hours.
Resources and Investments
Typical duration
Resources and Investments
In-house
Step by Step
1. Contact TransitionsStreet.org.uk and they can send the starter pack
2. Then recruit your neighbours
3. Transition Street facilitates the first sessions, explaining the project and exploring how the community can connect more
4. Meet every couple of weeks to explore five key topics of energy, food, resource use, travel and water
5. In the final session reflect on what you have achieved and look forward
Evaluation
Connecting Methods
Flexibility and Adaptability
Flexible as it depends on those who are interested on how to meet and where.
Eg. Food topic: Usually at someone’s house, then they fix a date, cook together and have dinner.
Water topic: They do their own experiment of saving water, eg. by putting leftover water from washing food in the toilet cistern. They then talk to each other on what it felt like doing these different activities and what other ideas they might have to save water.
Existing Guidelines and Best Practice
Commitment to attend meetings and come prepared.
Confidentiality so that personal information are not shared with others.
Punctuality so that everyone arrives to meetings on time.
Respect each other so that everyone can have a say.
Support each other and provide possible emotional and practical support.
From https://www.resilientneighbourhoods.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/TS-Welcome.pdf
References and Further Resources
Transition Streets. https://www.transitionstreets.org.uk/
Stuart, G. (2014, May 5). What is Transition Streets? Sustaining Community. Retrieved from https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/what-is-tsc/
Transition Streets – Getting Started. Resilient Neighbourhoods. https://www.resilientneighbourhoods.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/TS-Welcome.pdf