Information and Communication Technology in the Transition Town Movement

The broad goal of this project is to understand how to combine sustainability knowledge with information and communication technology (ICT) in creating sustainable communities. The Transition Movement is a global social experiment aiming to promote sustainable living and build ecological resilience in the near future at local levels. The Transition movement began in 2005 in Totnes, UK, a market town in South Devon. Today there are about 1000 registered Transition towns in 34 countries. By conducting field studies about how ICTs are used to support the Transition towns’ transition from vulnerability to resilience in the Transition movement, this project aims to examine the current and potential roles of ICTs in building local communities’ resilience, and draw insights for the design, implementation, and evaluation of ICT systems for building resilience.