Transition & Happiness

As I listened to Jon Hall and “economic indicators” on the Happiness webinar I kept thinking about Transition and its “resilience indicators.”  The following is something I shared at a City Council meeting and something I have posted at the Sammamish Valley Grange.  Many may not be ready for this vision of a resilient community and future but many of us are. 

The Transition movement creates towns that are resilient which refers to the ability of a system, from individual people to whole economies, to hold together and maintain their ability to function in the face of change and shocks from the outside.

As stated in The Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins resilience indicators are: 

·         Cutting carbon

·         Percentage of food consumed locally that was produced within a given radius

·         Ratio of car parking space to productive land use

·         Degree of engagement in practical Transition work by local community

·         Amount of traffic on local roads

·         Number of businesses owned by local people

·         Proportion of the community employed locally

·         Percentage of local building materials used in new housing developments

·         Amount of 16-year-olds able to grow 10 different varieties of vegetables to a given degree of basic competency

·         Percentage of medicines prescribed locally that have been produced within a given radius

·         The percentage of local trade carried out in local currency

I asked Laura if Rob could be a speaker on one of the Happiness webinars.  She is receptive so I am introducing them.  Once again I appreciate Laura’s inclusiveness.