“No-one can stop us from imagining another kind of future, one which departs from the terrible cataclysm of violent conflict, of hateful divisions, poverty and suffering. Let us begin to imagine the worlds we would like to inhabit, the long lives we will share, and the many futures in our hands." Susan Griffin
Imagine that. Just imagine. This is the premise of the latest book by Rob Hopkins.
For those unfamiliar with him, Hopkins is the originator of the first Transition Town in Totnes, UK in 2007. Originally conceptualised to build local community sustainability in the wake of the twin challenges of peak oil and the climate crisis, since then Transition Towns has become a worldwide networked movement.
A founding principle of Transition Towns is the question – what could a thriving, resilient local community look like once it is no longer dependent on fossil fuels, mass agriculture, factory farming and international food supply chains? By engaging the hearts and minds of local concerned citizens, Transition Towns has burst into a vast panoramic array of technicolour ideation – each town exhibiting bespoke qualities that underpin community prospering.
This forms the foundation of the book. In an increasingly homogenous culture where everyday human imagination is sacrificed to the attention-grabbing allure of smart devices, we’ve never needed to nurture creativity more. We need new ideas and new ways of being and doing. Most urgently, we need to overcome attention deficit to design pathways toward more equitable, inclusive, low-carbon futures that work for as many stakeholders as possible.
Creativity and imagination are the meta-skills that will get us there. This book brims with stories of how to begin.
