Community Resilience And Environmental Transitions

This book discusses the resilience of communities in both developed and developing world contexts. It investigates the notion of ‘resilience’ and the challenges faced by local communities around the world to deal with disturbances (natural hazards or human-made) that may threaten their long-term survival. Using global examples, specific emphasis is placed on how learning processes, traditions, policies and politics affect the resilience of communities and what constraints and opportunities exist for communities to raise resilience levels.

Urban centres are bastions of inequalities, where poverty, marginalization, segregation and health insecurity are magnified. Minorities and the poor – often residing in neighbourhoods characterized by degraded infrastructures, food and job insecurity, limited access to transport and health care, and other inadequate public services – are inherently vulnerable, especially at risk in times of shock or change as they lack the option to avoid, mitigate and adapt to threats. Offering both theoretical and practical approaches, this book proposes critical perspectives and an interdisciplinary lens on urban inequalities in light of individual, group, community and system vulnerabilities and resilience. Touching upon current research trends in food justice, environmental injustice through socio-spatial tactics and solution-based approaches towards urban community resilience, Resilience, Environmental Justice and the City promotes perspectives which transition away from the traditional discussions surrounding environmental justice and pinpoints the need to address urban social inequalities beyond the build environment, championing approaches that help embed social vulnerabilities and resilience in urban planning. With its methodological and dynamic approach to the intertwined nature of resilience and environmental justice in urban cities, this book will be of great interest to students, scholars and practitioners within urban studies, environmental management, environmental sociology and public administration.

National and global efforts have failed to stop climate change, transition from fossil fuels, and reduce inequality. We must now confront these and other increasingly complex problems by building resilience at the community level. The Community Resilience Reader combines a fresh look at the challenges humanity faces in the 21st century, the essential tools of resilience science, and the wisdom of activists, scholars, and analysts working on the ground to present a new vision for creating resilience. It shows that resilience is a process, not a goal; how it requires learning to adapt but also preparing to transform; and that it starts and ends with the people living in a community. From Post Carbon Institute, the producers of the award-winning The Post Carbon Reader, The Community Resilience Reader is a valuable resource for community leaders, college students, and concerned citizens.

Resilience, Community Action and Societal Transformation is a unique collection bridging research, theory and practical action to create more resilient societies. It includes accounts from people and organizations on the front line of efforts to build community resilience; cutting-edge theory and analysis from engaged scholar-activists; and commentary from sympathetic researchers. Its content ranges from first-hand accounts of the Transition Movement in the UK, Canada and Spain, to theoretical reflections on resilience theory and the shifts in mindsets and perspectives required for transitions to sustainability. The book contains substantive contributions from activists and activist-scholars such as Lorenzo Chelleri (Gran Sasso Science Institute, Italy), Juan del Rio (Transition Spain), Naresh Giangrande (Transition Network), Maja G�pel (Wuppertal Institute), Thomas Henfrey (Transition Research Network), Justin Kenrick (Forest People's Programme), Glen Kuecker (University of Indiana), Cheryl Lyon (Transition Peterborough Ontario) and Gesa Maschowski (Transition Bonn), along with briefing notes from noted experts in resilience. The result is a compelling cocktail of insights, ideas and action points likely to define the scientific and practical fields of community resilience for years to come.

Urban centres are bastions of inequalities, where poverty, marginalization, segregation and health insecurity are magnified. Minorities and the poor – often residing in neighbourhoods characterized by degraded infrastructures, food and job insecurity, limited access to transport and health care, and other inadequate public services – are inherently vulnerable, especially at risk in times of shock or change as they lack the option to avoid, mitigate and adapt to threats. Offering both theoretical and practical approaches, this book proposes critical perspectives and an interdisciplinary lens on urban inequalities in light of individual, group, community and system vulnerabilities and resilience. Touching upon current research trends in food justice, environmental injustice through socio-spatial tactics and solution-based approaches towards urban community resilience, Resilience, Environmental Justice and the City promotes perspectives which transition away from the traditional discussions surrounding environmental justice and pinpoints the need to address urban social inequalities beyond the build environment, championing approaches that help embed social vulnerabilities and resilience in urban planning. With its methodological and dynamic approach to the intertwined nature of resilience and environmental justice in urban cities, this book will be of great interest to students, scholars and practitioners within urban studies, environmental management, environmental sociology and public administration.

NOW IS THE TIME! is the story of Transition Town Peterborough, a not-for-profit organization located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, evolving in real time during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Climate Crisis, as told by its founding director. It is the story of the building blocks of achieving more resilient communities during the multiple crises of energy, economics, environment and equity, including social, racial, economic and the distribution of energy. As founder of the Kawartha Loon local currency issued by Transition Town Peterborough, the author writes vividly from experience on how the global economy continues to hollow out local communities such as Peterborough, and how they can fight back and become much more resilient by building their own economiclocalization infrastructure, supporting all life essentials including food water, energy, culture, and wellness. "The securing of life essentials is paramount to any community resilience strategy, a budgetary understanding that funding for the security of life essentials can only be compared to funding for our essential workers, including police, fire, ambulance, bus drivers, health care, and teachers, to name some of the most prominent." Further, the author takes aim at global corporations, national governments, and the United Nations for collectively greenwashing the environmental movement's direction to get off all fossil fuels and reduce GHG emissions by promoting sustainable development, giving cover to the continued pursuit of economic growth-the very cause of increasing GHG emissions. This continuing charade perpetuated on the real economy, where 99 percent of the global population actually lives, has accelerated the movement towards localization and the economics of happiness. Transition Town Peterborough is Canada's first transition town, applying the International Transition Towns model founded in Totnes, England, by Rob Hopkins.

“[The authors] argue that with more integration and cooperation between businesses, governments and communities, a more sustainable economy is possible.” —The Environmental Magazine We find ourselves between a rock and a hot place—compelled by the intertwined forces of peak oil and climate change to reinvent our economic life at a much more local and regional scale. The Resilience Imperative argues for a major SEE (social, ecological, economic) change as a prerequisite for replacing the paradigm of limitless economic growth with a more decentralized, cooperative, steady-state economy. The authors present a comprehensive series of strategic questions within the broad areas of: Energy sufficiency Local food systems Interest-free financing Affordable housing and land reform Sustainable community development Each section is complemented by case studies of pioneering community initiatives rounded out by a discussion of transition factors and resilience reflections. With a focus on securing and sustaining change, this provocative book challenges deeply embedded cultural assumptions. Profoundly hopeful and inspiring, The Resilience Imperative affirms the possibilities of positive change as it is shaped by individuals, communities, and institutions learning to live within our ecological limits. “Resilience is the watchword for our dawning era of economic and environmental instability . . . The Resilience Imperative is exactly what’s needed to get us moving in the right direction.” —Richard Heinberg, author of Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival “Exceptionally valuable—in vision, in strategic understanding, in concrete ways to build forward. A handbook for a morally meaningful and sustainable future!” —Gar Alperovitz, author of America Beyond Capitalism

This book provides an accessible overview of how efforts to combat climate change and social inequalities should be tackled simultaneously. In the context of the climate emergency, the impacts of extreme events can already be felt around the world. The book centres on five case studies from the Global South, Latin America, Pacific Islands, Africa, and Asia with each one focused on climate justice, resilience, and community responses towards a just transition. The book will be an invaluable reference for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in environmental studies, urban planning, geography, social science, international development, and disciplines that focus on the social dimensions of climate change.