An Overview Of Our Solution
Transition Streets is a behavior-change project where neighbors come together with neighbors to implement simple no-cost and low-cost actions. These actions cut household energy use, reduce water and waste, change how we eat and transport ourselves, and strengthen our neighborhoods at the same time.
Many people take incremental actions to reduce their energy use and consumption of resources. Others want to make changes, but don’t know how or where to begin. Transition Streets provides a user-friendly handbook, facilitation guides, and an enjoyable process for working together to significantly increase individual and collective impacts.
With Transition Streets participants: SAVE MONEY and cut household bills an average of $900/year; REDUCE household carbon emissions an average of 1.3 tons; and BUILD COMMUNITY - which goes well beyond this project.
- Population Impacted: 100,000,000
- Continent:
Last name
Organization type
Context Analysis
As the impacts of climate change become increasingly destructive, stakeholders at local, state, and national levels are looking for solutions. Many climate adaptation strategies emphasize expensive, centralized infrastructure investments (like levees or seawalls). Local municipalities each have targets for reduction of carbon and water use, relying on a combination of restrictions and incentives to encourage citizens to reduce energy and water consumption. But these efforts often lack strong community engagement components that empower residents with practical responses. The Transition Streets approach invests in the friendly peer-pressure of near-neighbors to change behavior and build resilience where they live. Together they reduce their household environmental impacts while enhancing their own quality of life. Using accessible information, simple action plans, and the neighborhood engagement processes of Transition Streets, participants make critical lifestyle changes.
Describe the technical solution you wanted the target audience to adopt
A handful of neighbors get together for 7 meetings during which they follow clear and easy steps from a user-friendly handbook. The focus is on low-cost (or no-cost) actions that result in the lowering of both the carbon footprints of each participating household as well as their annual household expenses.
The curriculum breaks it down into very, very simple steps and participants go through five main topic areas: Energy, Food, Water, Waste and Transportation.
Each chapter pulls together practical resources and tips on changes that can be made from simple ceiling insulation and draught-proofing to composting and growing food; from installing rainwater catchment systems to biking and ride-sharing. The handbook helps calculate current energy and water use, how much could be reduced, and how much money could be saved. Along with the handbook, are facilitation and outreach guides, peer mentorship opportunities, and an engaged staff who are always ready to help.
Type of intervention
Describe your behavioral intervention
The main focus of Transition Streets is on curbing our high consumer lifestyles that contribute to the dire impacts of climate change. To do this we have adapted the Ashden Award winning Transition Together project (https://www.ashden.org/winners/transition-town-totnes-transition-togeth…) for use in the U.S. By employing a well-designed handbook and the friendly peer-pressure of near-neighbors, behaviors do change. Neighbors not only support each other in making the initial changes, afterward there are now more “eyes on the street” to help sustain those behaviors. Numerous studies such as those conducted by psychologist, R.E. Cialdini on persuasion, or articles by Carlton School of Management’s, Vladas Griskevicius on normative social influence have shown that voluntarily engaging in altruistic behavior sends a powerful signal that you are caring and compassionate and as we take our cues for what is "normal" from those around us, we’ll influence each other in changing our behaviors. For example, of those who participated in Transition Streets, a neighbor who committed to others to make fewer car trips will be more likely to think twice when getting into the car. Another who committed to reducing trash will be reluctant to haul out an overflowing trash bin to the curb. Or another who committed to reducing outdoor water use will be more vigilant in their watering. With neighborhood eyes, even friendly ones, observing behavior will create new social norms.
As needed, please explain the type of intervention in more detail
According to numerous scientific predictions, over the coming decades SF Bay Area communities will be faced with significant temperature increases and sea level rise; extreme weather events may cause serious damage to infrastructure and the capacity of emergency response teams to respond. At the same time, many of our communities currently lack the resilience to mitigate, adapt and respond to these types of external shocks. For example, we know that communities where neighbors have social bonds have better outcomes when disaster strikes; yet according to Pew Research Trust, fewer than half of Americans know their neighbors’ names. Transition Streets is rectifying that by building social cohesion street by street.
Describe your implementation
Our Transition Streets website directs viewers to general project information, then to a preview, and finally to a download page for all Transition Streets materials. These include: outreach and session facilitation guides, an informational animated 1-minute video, the 140-page handbook (with five main topic areas: Energy, Food, Water, Waste and Transportation), and the evaluation form. Armed with this material, one or more people (often using tips from the outreach guide) convene a handful of neighbors over 7-meetings during which they follow clear and easy steps from the user-friendly handbook. Each participating household completes an initial assessment of their energy, water, waste, transportation miles and food. At the end they tally these again incorporating the solutions they have adopted.
Because the focus of Transition Streets is on near-neighbors there is an accountability mechanism built in. As mentioned, there are more “eyes on the street” to observe many behaviors and influence new social norms. Also during the 7-sessions neighbors discuss and declare the changes they plan to make between meetings. This brings out competitive altruism and the friendly peer-pressure that’s exerted helps everyone make the changes declared. The added incentive to save money, works to further motivate.
The main obstacle we face is the lack of outreach and facilitation skills required to effectively convene a group. To address this, we have compiled outreach and facilitation guides, plus recordings of several webinars that outline successful tips. A second challenge, we have not overcome, is accessibility for low income communities. By providing stipends to neighborhood coordinators rather than relying solely on volunteers, may greatly increase participation. A third challenge, is developing an online evaluation system where participants would load their initial and final energy use data into a national database so that these results could be better tracked.
External connections
We are currently working with the California State Water Agency to pilot an enhanced water-saving edition of Transition Streets in four very different cities (Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Pasadena and Joshua Tree). We are in discussion with a city planner from Montgomery, Alabama who sees Transition Streets as an excellent tool that could be used for training of neighborhood leaders. These leaders would then bring Transition Streets to a group of neighborhoods called BONDS (Building Our Neighborhoods for Development and Success). Prior to this, a Transition group in Charlottesville, VA worked with their local government on Energizing Charlottesville. Transition Streets was a component of that effort. As an offshoot, we are using the Transition Streets process of engaging near neighbors in our Ready Together project where neighbors support each other through a curriculum of simple, actionable steps to prepare their households and neighborhoods for disasters of any sort. Those who have participated in Transition Streets will be interested in Ready Together as a sequel or it could be used as a prequel.
In terms of nonprofit partners, we are working with Daily Acts Organization and the NorCal Resilience Network on launching Transition Streets more broadly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Across the country we are working with leaders from many of the 163 Transition Initiatives that have formed in 37 states.
Who adopted the desired behaviors and to what degree?
Primarily leading Transition Streets efforts across the country have been those already engaged in the broader Transition movement of which Transition US is the national hub. Those involved in this movement principally came to it out of concern for the future and a desire to do something positive where they live. As the focus of the Transition movement is on catalyzing and strengthening a network of people-powered groups who are building local resilience through community action – all within the context of global climate change, Transition Streets was a natural for this distributed network to adopt. Those participating in the various Transition Streets efforts, however, are from all walks of life and largely unaffiliated with the Transition movement. Similar to the case in Totnes, England, for most participants, getting to know their neighbors was their number one takeaway. Secondly, they all made significant changes in their energy use but building relationships was number one.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
Participants are led through the practical actions that reduce their energy and water use, cut down on waste, decrease transportation miles and increase local food. The handbook can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/2J6P6aY. In Totnes, England, the carbon conversion ratings used were approved by CRED at the University of East Anglia. When these were adapted for the U.S. we amended some of them based on EPA carbon conversion data. The Totnes study and our own data to-date, shows the average household reduced their carbon emissions by 1.3 tons. Prior to undertaking any of the Transition Streets solutions, participants conduct an energy audit. When complete, they tally again to assess their carbon and cost savings. A link to the current evaluation form can be found here: https://bit.ly/2LNC4Nk.
What were some of the resulting co-benefits?
As we’ve witnessed, Transition Streets participants often continue to meet and organize follow-up activities even after the “official” program has ended. The goodwill and social cohesion that is built goes far beyond the project and puts neighbors in good stead for any number of possible future scenarios including natural disasters. As well, participants feel more empowered to take on other community measures and many see their civic engagement sharply rise. A handful of participants are working with us on “advanced” solutions for each of the five topic areas that will be added as an addendum to the Transition Streets Handbook. For an engaged citizenry, the sky’s the limit!
Sustainability
Transition Streets is designed to be easily replicated without significant overhead. It’s a tool that ordinary people can easily adopt and implement. There are two simple ways to get the materials. One is to come to http://transitionstreets.org/ and click through to the download page. All materials, including: a 1-minute animation, facilitation and outreach guides, and the 140-page handbook, are available for download for a suggested donation of $20 (materials can also be requested for free). Those who download it are welcome to send the link to others in their neighborhood group. A second method is to send the print ready pdf file to a printer and make copies for the group. Additionally, we are exploring a print on demand version.
Return on investment
The largest cost are the materials cost, although with online copy centers like Copies in Color an order of twelve 140-page handbooks costs $105.84 (unit cost of $8.82 with shipping under $20). To alleviate even that cost – the handbook and all supporting materials are available digitally. From our pilot study, the average household reduced their energy bill by $938 annually and cut their carbon emissions by 1.3 tons.
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Transition Streets was developed to be replicated. The handbook offers low-cost and no-cost solutions to lower home energy use and increase the adoption of healthy local foods. Groups are encouraged to add locale-specific subsidies or rebates. The project was first developed and successfully deployed in Totnes, England (pop. 8,076) where 450 (~5.6%) people participated. A survey of participants revealed three top reasons for engagement: 1. Building good relationships with neighbors (rated 4/5 by 85.5%), 2. Doing something positive about issues that concern me, e.g. climate change (rated 4/5 by 77.6%), and 3. Reducing my carbon footprint/energy dependency (rated 4/5 by 79.6% but with a lower percentage rating this 5 or 'very important'). In the US we have surmised that additional funding for marketing, and training regional facilitators would create more momentum. The most significant partners we are cultivating are local and municipal governments and regional and state water agencies.