Cheaper together: How neighbors invest in community
Cooperative financing and community land trusts keep rents affordable and homeownership within reach.
Act: Inspiration
Little Boxes on the Hillside
No developments evince joy in people. No one celebrates when green fields are torn up, trees are felled, creatures are driven out of their homes, and the little boxes chew up the green hills and shut out the view. No one likes it when Lego land encroaches on the familiar neighbourhoods, brings traffic and supermarkets and alienation in its wake. Although people do go and live in these places, nevertheless.
Survival of the fittest?
The disabled and the elderly have been thrown onto the scrap heap by the current contraction, and the lack of empathy from the rest of Britain has been staggering – hate crime is up 75%, and for the first time since I’ve been in the UK I feel uncomfortable stepping out of my house with my cane. Invariably in debates online, when disabled people have tried to advocate for a return of dignity and independence, someone will quote “survival of the fittest” as a reason to discard disabled people, children, and pensioners who are unable to care for themselves. But is discarding the “useless eater” (as Germany put it in propaganda posters during the 30’s) a true sign of survival, or is it a further symptom of socio-collapse?
Pies, hugs and pedal spanners
A while back a friend here in Totnes, after learning of my DoctorBike sessions in the market on a Saturday, asked me, “Why do you fix bikes for free?”. Sounds like a simple question, but it isn’t. And behind it is a whole lot of assumptions and prejudices.
More on Plan C: A Clear, Actionable Platform for Those Who Care About Earth’s Future
What can we, the people, do to create a political movement that has Plan C as its core economic platform? While it is radical, it is not at all difficult to do. Of course it will be opposed by the 1%, but why are we so afraid of that, and so cynical that any political group could stand up to the 1%?
Doing something – June 12
– Elinor Ostrom: Green from the Grassroots
– Reflections From Netroots Nation: Seven Years Later
– America’s Love Affair With the Motor Car Is Running on Empty
– IMF chief Christine Lagarde warns world risks triple crisis (falling incomes, environmental damage and social unrest)
Elinor Ostrom (1933 – 2012) – Nobel prize winner reinvigorated the concept of the Commons
– Remembering Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Laureate
– Elinor Ostrom Outlines Best Strategies for Managing the Commons
– 8 Principles for Managing a Commons
Transition & solutions – June 11
– World Naked Bike Ride – in pictures
– Not a Fairytale: America’s First Public Food Forest
– Sharon Astyk’s resolutions upon reaching middle age
– Interview with Eva Schonveld – Transition in Scotland.
Investing for local resilience
Craft3 aims to build regional resilience in the Pacific Northwest by focusing investments in rural and urban centers, and in Indian country
The commons emerges as a theme at the People’s Summit in Rio
Commons are not just common goods or assets. They are not “things” separate from us. They are not simply water, the forest, or ideas. They are social practices of commoning, of acting together, based on principles of sharing, stewarding, and producing in common. To ensure this, all those who participate in a common have the right to an equal voice in making decisions on the provisions and rules governing its management.
Thriving in Peterborough: the latest Transition Thrive training
We ran our latest Transition Thrive in the Green Backyard which is an urban garden, meeting space and inspiration for the Peterborough in Transition (or PinT) project. Mandy Dean and I had the unusual but very welcome opportunity to work with the PinT group for two days. Our intention was to facilitate them to fulfil their wildest dreams, while keeping their feet firmly on the ground; to take their next steps in Transition. And to sprinkle some inspiration dust and enjoy our time together.
Talking with Fellow Transitioners – Plants and Places
Growing food inspires all sorts of people and can really capture the imagination. At the Premier Inn site which has been going since last year, it’s rewarding to see how building the garden has deepened friendships, formed new ones and how the combination of Transition and food creates beneficial relationships on so many levels. And all in the corner of a hotel car park! Now we have the Royal Free Permaculture Garden above the hospital car park. It’s much bigger and feels more daring.
