A Vision of Totnes and District in 2030
The Totnes of 2030 is a town which has weathered difficult times, but has now emerged as a resilient, diverse and prosperous community. The surrounding parishes have undergone a similar transition, and the parishes and the town are now much more economically intertwined and more dependent on each other. The area is now 60% self-reliant in terms of food, and has reached a similar percentage in terms of energy provision.
Many more people now work closer to where they live, and have become active members of the community, more engaged in a more vibrant and effective local democracy. The south-facing rooftops of the town now glint on a sunny day with their solar panels and many members know that the wind turbine visible from the town is making them money each time it turns.
A walk through the town reveals a quieter, happier and calmer town than that of 2009. The ATMOS Project by the river became, in 2012, a key driver for the rebuilding of the local economy, and led to the creation of hundreds of new small businesses, providing revitalised local markets with building materials, food, skills, advice, and so on. Rather than the town’s economy now being at the mercy of international financial events, it has transformed into a more resilient settlement, one that has led the way and inspired many other communities to start taking their future into their hands.
Saving our civilisation is not a spectator sport
Lester R Brown1
Footnotes
- Plan B 3.0 Mobilizing to Save Civilisation, Lester R. Brown 2008 p285 [↩]
Subpages in This Section
- Key Challenges
- Business as usual or willing to change?
- Indicators – Key Characteristics of a Resilient Community
- A Forest Model of Society
- Joined up Thinking – a Timeline of Change
- Contingency Planning for Sudden Change
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