Resilience Takes Form -- A Handbook for Transition

Something strange has happened over in old Blighty. I'm not sure if the Utopian dreams of the 1960's are making a comeback or if a new movement, one grounded in reality but focused on our future, has taken shape. No matter how cynical you are, you can't ignore one of the fastest growing grassroots movements in the UK -- The Transition Network.

In 2006 a founding member of this network, Rob Hopkins, had begun working on an idea in Totnes, a sleepy town in the West of England. From the land of Cornish pasties and clotted cream a community-led initiative began to focus on a duel issues of climate change and the realities of a post peak oil society.

It seems crazy, but by galvanizing the community Rob and a highly networked team developed what is now called the Transition model, the 12 steps or initiatives to transition as described in his book The Transition Handbook. Totnes has become the accidental epicenter of a quiet revolution.

The key components of the Transition model are that groups involved in each of the 12 transition initiatives that focus on the various sectors of local communities. The groups plan awareness programs, include screening movies followed by talks by experts about climate change. Round two they stimulate a local movement by organizing networking events and developing groups focus on different themes deemed important to their local community. Then they produce a 'Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP)' that reflects the views and inputs from many local stake holders. Then it gets really interesting -- the town collectively finds ways to power down.

It was at this point I went crazy researching, and began writing what I thought was going to be an insightful piece about the movement, where it's going and what it means -- then I found this online video... ...what better than an English poet with a wry sense of humor to explain this fascinating phenomenon.



I recommend you watch the video and make up your own mind. As you watch, just remember that there are many new towns, villages and hamlets are self-organizing under these ideals. They are looking inward to ask themselves what will their future look like based on their needs -- not just some generic government white paper. Take note. This movement could be coming to a town near you.

Amphibious Homes

Leave it to the Dutch to come up with “amphibious houses” – a concept that makes sense in a landscape where solid ground is yearly sinking. Residents and planners are looking into the future with concern over flooding and heavy rain, an issue that will be compounded by rising water levels from global warming.

In response to this problem, the field of maritime architecture is gaining momentum. One notable architect, Koen Olthuis, has created some astoundingly beautiful water dwellings. What differentiates these from standard houseboats is a patented technology which allows the foundation of the construction to be transformed into a float. A foam core is encased in concrete, with steel cables securing it against the pull of potential currents.

Olthius’ company is looking not only at individual residences, but at creating maritime settlements, which is easily done, since his designs are linkable, “like LEGO blocks.” In the bottom image, one such settlement is pictured from an aerial perpective, giving a sense of the layout of these swimming developments.
The reassurance offered to residents in knowing that their homes will respond to rising water by floating on the surface is invaluable. Such technologies will obviously be relevant and necessary in many other parts of the world as demands for space drive people towards the coast, and climate change creates unpredictable scenarios for those who take up residence there.

Amphibious Homes

The Dutch have fought their marshy surroundings with clever engineering since the country’s inception, and we’ve seen some impressive “floating architecture” from DuraVermeer and WaterStudio. Now that global warming is fanning the flame: melting ice-caps and raising sea levels, more and more Dutch designers are getting into amphibious architecture. Builder Hans van de Beek’s amphibious houses are an obvious yet genius solution to rising water levels. He explains; “They are pretty much just regular houses, the only difference is that when the water rises, they rise.”

Unlike the houseboats that line many Dutch canals or the floating villages of Asia, these homes are being built on solid ground — but they also are designed to float on flood water. Each house is made of lightweight wood, and the concrete base is hollow, giving it ship-like buoyancy. With no foundations anchored in the earth, the structure rests on the ground and is fastened to 15-foot-long mooring posts with sliding rings, allowing it to float upwards in times of flood. All the electrical cables, water and sewage flow through flexible pipes inside the mooring piles.

What a great example of turning architectural lemons into lemonade, and being responsive and accepting of environmental contexts.

New York's Battery Park

The design’s elements articulate the new curvilinear park geometry. The elliptical Kiosks are derived from a series of arcs and made of certified sustainably-harvested hardwood. The Benches were designed to hold up to the punishing wear and tear of relaxing New Yorkers with an absolutely minimal use of material.

The shell like glass house with white wall interior which provide a clean surface for projection. and interactive digital media. The spiral structure create a walk through as driving under water experience. The use of smart glass panels can allow the projection happen during sunny day time.

LENAPE,MANHATTAN

This garden landscape is located on a rare patch of open, south-facing land in the middle of Manhattan. The triangular piece of land is in front of Hudson Guild, a vital community center that was established in 1895 and currently serves the 2,000 residents of the surrounding New York Public Housing Authority’s Robert Fulton Houses and Elliott-Chelsea Houses. The garden includes the native edible plants and mounded plantings of beans, corn, and squash—also known as the “three sisters”—that the Lenape people would have eaten for millenia in that very location. It provides a view back to their lives and how they lived off the land on the island they knew as Mannahatta at the time that the first European, Henry Hudson, visited in 1609. Unlike the other Edible Estates gardens, which are very much about the present, this garden is a meditation on the historical facts of and future possibilities for our occupation of the island.

The Lenape garden is surrounded by detailed signage that tells the story of each plant, the food it produces, how the Lenape used it in their diet, and the natural history of the site. It is not intended to feed the current local residents, but rather to provide visible evidence of both the general fact that our food comes out of the dirt and specific examples of the sources of food for the previous residents of the island. It is a demonstration garden, part experimental laboratory and part educational display. Visiting students and those from the nearby children’s center use the garden and its central gathering circle for activities and workshops dealing with the history, ecology, food, plants, animals, energy, and other aspects of the immediate natural environment.

The residents of Elliott-Chelsea Houses, members of the Hudson Guild community, visiting students, and the general public become more aware of organic growing cycles as they watch the garden evolve through the seasons and years. They become aware of the natural and cultural history of the island they live on by observing food growing on plants that existed in Manhattan soil before it was the city we know today. This garden landscape may also serve as a model for small-scale urban edible landscapes and as a possible prototype for modest green spaces at similar housing sites across the city.

ST. ANN'S ALLOTMENTS

STAA runs a Community Orchard on a collection of plots on the St Ann's Allotments. It is a lively hub of educational and community life centered on local children and families.

It was set up in September 2001 on several overgrown allotments. The plots – which include mature fruit trees, a pond and a stream - were cleared and planted up by volunteers, schools and community groups.

The Orchard provides a safe, natural and exciting place for people to learn and explore. Much of our work focuses on children varying in age from nurseries to secondary schools. Educational activities include gardening, construction, management of the environment and arts and crafts. Occasionally the site provides a learning space for gardeners on-site too. We run free sessions such as tree pruning and other horticultural skills.

The Community Orchard is also a place where we hold regular Activity Days and other open events. At these we focus on looking after the site, providing informal activities (especially for children) and seasonal events such as the annual Apple Day celebrations and our Winter Extravaganza. It's a great opportunity for the public to come and explore the orchard, to try new skills, and to sample some of our food and drink around the fire.

EDIBLE ESTATES regional prototype garden

The Edible Estate was established on a highly visible triangular lawn in front of the Brookwood Estate. This rare green space is fenced off and was previously unused.

Twenty-four units at Brookwood and another sixteen in Lancaster House (another council estate) all face the triangle. Placing the garden here meant that everyone would be watching: the local gardeners would perform for their neighbors. In the centre of the dense city, the production of food would become a public spectacle.

Initially many residents were sceptical about the prospects of such a garden in this location, and they feared it would be vandalized. But there is a school across the street, which insures a steady flow of children past the garden. It was the children of the council estates who were the most excited about the garden and eager to get their hands in the dirt over the course of the three days of planting.

This garden is intended as a new model for urban agriculture. It is not a true community garden (or “allotment,” as the popular practice is referred to in Britain) with separate private plots for each gardener. It is one holistic design that also integrates spaces where people may gather; a pleasure garden made up entirely of edibles. Those who tend it will eat from it.