Transition Town

What it is

A global movement of communities building resilience and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Transition groups form locally, identify their community's specific priorities, and organize around them: community gardens, repair cafes, renewable energy cooperatives, local currencies, skill-shares, food coops.

The movement started in 2006 in Totnes, UK, with the work of Rob Hopkins and others, and now spans 67+ countries. It is intentionally distributed: each Transition group is autonomous, working from a shared framework but adapted to local conditions.

Why it works

Climate change, energy uncertainty, supply chain fragility, and economic precarity all argue for stronger local capacity. Transition Towns is one of the longer-running models for community organizing around that argument. It is not survivalist; it is built on relationships and shared work, with the understanding that resilience and connection grow together.

The framework is intentionally light. There is no central authority. Local groups pick from a menu of "ingredients" (originally 12, now 43) and apply what fits.

What you need

• Time: Long arc. Most successful Transition groups operate over years and decades.
• People: A founding group of 5 to 20 committed neighbors. Working groups for specific projects.
• Space: Meeting space (homes, community centers, libraries). Specific project sites (gardens, workshops, distribution points).
• Materials: Whatever each project requires. Shared documents, communication channels, project-specific equipment.
• Skills: Community organizing, project management, technical skills relevant to specific projects (gardening, building, electrical, etc.).
• Energy level: Moderate. Distributed across many people and projects.

How to host it

1. Connect with the Transition Network. They support new initiatives with materials, training, and a global network of practitioners.
2. Form a founding group. 5 to 10 neighbors committed to the work. Mix of perspectives and skills.
3. Pick your initial focus. The movement's 43 ingredients are a menu, not a checklist. Common starting points:

• Community gardens or food forests.
• A repair cafe or skill-share series.
• Local food initiatives (CSAs, farmers markets, community kitchens).
• Energy descent or efficiency projects.
• A local currency or time bank.
• Community-supported agriculture or producer coops.

1. Run "awareness raising" alongside action. Film screenings, talks, walks, workshops. The events that bring more neighbors into the conversation.
2. Build working groups. Each project gets its own working group of 3 to 10 people. The main initiative coordinates, supports, and connects them.
3. Partner widely. Local government, schools, businesses, faith communities, neighborhood associations. Transition Towns is meant to be a connector, not a competitor.
4. Document and celebrate. Each project completed, each garden bed dug, each repair night, each meal cooked together. The visibility carries the next group of participants in.
5. Sustain over time. Many Transition Towns experience cycles of high energy and lower energy. The strongest groups have learned to operate at multiple paces and to welcome people back after long absences.

Variations

Sector-specific. Some communities run only the food piece (a Transition Food Hub) or only the energy piece (a Transition Energy Coop) without taking on the full framework.

Neighborhood scale within a city. Larger cities sometimes have multiple Transition groups by neighborhood, plus a citywide coordinating body.

Local economy focus. Some groups have led with local currency, time banks, or producer cooperatives as the unifying project.

Cohousing connection. Some Transition Towns have spawned [cohousing](../12-shared-land-and-home/cohousing.md) projects as the next step in committing to shared local life.

Faith-based variant. Some congregations have organized around Transition principles. The faith framing provides additional moral language and member commitment.

Stories from neighborhoods

Totnes, UK, the founding Transition Town (2006), has built community gardens, a renewable energy cooperative, a local currency (the Totnes Pound), a community brewery, and many other projects across two decades.

Transition US, the U.S. hub, supports hundreds of Transition initiatives across the country. Notable examples include Transition Sebastopol (California), Transition Pittsburgh, and many smaller-town initiatives.

Globally, the movement has spread to 67+ countries with thousands of local initiatives. Each looks different. The underlying commitment to community-led local resilience is the constant.

The model has also informed adjacent movements: solidarity economy networks, eco-villages, climate adaptation organizing, food sovereignty movements. The boundaries between these are porous.

Where to learn more

• The global hub: Transition Network
• The U.S. hub: Transition US
• Foundational book: Rob Hopkins, *The Transition Handbook*
• Adjacent recipes: [Community Garden](../06-placemaking/community-garden.md), [Tool Library](../03-mutual-aid/tool-library.md), [Time Banking](../03-mutual-aid/timebanking.md), [Resilience Hub](../07-resilience/resilience-hub.md)

Details

• steps: **Connect with the [Transition Network](https://transitionnetwork.org/).** They support new initiatives with materials, training, and a global network of practitioners., **Form a founding group.** 5 to 10 neighbors committed to the work. Mix of perspectives and skills., **Pick your initial focus.** The movement's 43 ingredients are a menu, not a checklist. Common starting points: - Community gardens or food forests. - A repair cafe or skill-share series. - Local food initiatives (CSAs, farmers markets, community kitchens). - Energy descent or efficiency projects. - A local currency or time bank. - Community-supported agriculture or producer coops., **Run "awareness raising" alongside action.** Film screenings, talks, walks, workshops. The events that bring more neighbors into the conversation., **Build working groups.** Each project gets its own working group of 3 to 10 people. The main initiative coordinates, supports, and connects them., **Partner widely.** Local government, schools, businesses, faith communities, neighborhood associations. Transition Towns is meant to be a connector, not a competitor., **Document and celebrate.** Each project completed, each garden bed dug, each repair night, each meal cooked together. The visibility carries the next group of participants in., **Sustain over time.** Many Transition Towns experience cycles of high energy and lower energy. The strongest groups have learned to operate at multiple paces and to welcome people back after long absences.
• file path: recipes/11-civic-rhythms/transition-network.md
• variations: **Sector-specific.** Some communities run only the food piece (a Transition Food Hub) or only the energy piece (a Transition Energy Coop) without taking on the full framework. **Neighborhood scale within a city.** Larger cities sometimes have multiple Transition groups by neighborhood, plus a citywide coordinating body. **Local economy focus.** Some groups have led with local currency, time banks, or producer cooperatives as the unifying project. **Cohousing connection.** Some Transition Towns have spawned [cohousing](../12-shared-land-and-home/cohousing.md) projects as the next step in committing to shared local life. **Faith-based variant.** Some congregations have organized around Transition principles. The faith framing provides additional moral language and member commitment.
• ingredients: {"time":"Long arc. Most successful Transition groups operate over years and decades.","space":"Meeting space (homes, community centers, libraries). Specific project sites (gardens, workshops, distribution points).","people":"A founding group of 5 to 20 committed neighbors. Working groups for specific projects.","skills":"Community organizing, project management, technical skills relevant to specific projects (gardening, building, electrical, etc.).","materials":"Whatever each project requires. Shared documents, communication channels, project-specific equipment.","energy_level":"Moderate. Distributed across many people and projects."}
• where to learn more: - The global hub: [Transition Network](https://transitionnetwork.org/) - The U.S. hub: [Transition US](https://transitionus.org/) - Foundational book: Rob Hopkins, *The Transition Handbook* - Adjacent recipes: [Community Garden](../06-placemaking/community-garden.md), [Tool Library](../03-mutual-aid/tool-library.md), [Time Banking](../03-mutual-aid/timebanking.md), [Resilience Hub](../07-resilience/resilience-hub.md)
• stories from neighborhoods: **Totnes, UK**, the founding Transition Town (2006), has built community gardens, a renewable energy cooperative, a local currency (the Totnes Pound), a community brewery, and many other projects across two decades. **Transition US**, the U.S. hub, supports hundreds of Transition initiatives across the country. Notable examples include Transition Sebastopol (California), Transition Pittsburgh, and many smaller-town initiatives. **Globally**, the movement has spread to 67+ countries with thousands of local initiatives. Each looks different. The underlying commitment to community-led local resilience is the constant. The model has also informed adjacent movements: solidarity economy networks, eco-villages, climate adaptation organizing, food sovereignty movements. The boundaries between these are porous.