Potential Topics
It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness
-Chinese proverb
Suggested Topics
- Community - festivals
- Community – sharing
- Local currency and economy
- Food
- Safety
- Energy
- Housing
- Elderly
- Recycling and Upcycling
- Gardening and growing
- Waste and pollution
- Transport
IMPORTANT NOTES – it is about CHANGE, not just tweaking
- The point of each topic is to outline ways we MIGHT live fruitfully, sustainably and in harmony with each other
- Topics overlap – check the whole list for your topic
- Each topic has some suggested areas and links
- These are not exhaustive – you will need to explore further
- There are at least two sides to each topic, so you are encouraged to find out many perspectives on them
- These are suggestions not rules! If you have another topic to add please let us know
1
Community – festivals and clubs
Men in Sheds
Hello Lamppost (gamification)
Local festivals (especially where there is no event, or specific person to celebrate!)
2
Community – sharing
City Eco Lab
Sustainable Every Day Blog
Human Cities Human Cities Toolbox
Also see the PDF on the site More detailed info of theToolboxcan be found on page 16-21 ofCivil Society Reclaims Public Space.
Time Banks
Time Banking
Timebanking in the UK: It's About Time | Sarah Bird | TEDxStPeterPort
3
Local currency and economy
How local currencies give value for money: Simon Woolf at TEDxBrixton
Shopping in local businesses, not supermarkets and chains The Guardian
Brixton banks on community currency to boost local economy
Farmers’ markets
Saving on transport costs and carbon footprint
4
Food
Food for homeless (pay it forward coffees)
Wastage prevention
Local growing schemes Food Revolution
Local food/farmers’ markets
Food security
Indoor growing
Eating seasonally (reduce imports)
5
Safety
Food security
Reclaiming derelict areas RIBA Forgotten Spaces
Lighting
Children
Terrorism
6
Energy
Solar, wind and water
Shared electricity grid
7
Housing
EarthshipsEarthships: Living Off The Grid
BedZED1of 6: BedZED - The need for sustainable communities
Tiny houses
Chinese (and other) Modular houses
Greenwalls
WEF China building forests in cities
Green walls
8
Elderly and disabled
House sharing with students
Express
The Guardian
Senior’s homes with pre-schoolers
The Guardian
Seniors keep chickens (to combat loneliness)
The Hensioners - The Feed
Using knowledge of retired people
9
Recycling and Upcycling
CubaCuba's DIY Inventions from 30 Years of Isolation
Mend-it community schemes
10
Gardening
Community and guerrilla gardening
How we can eat our landscapes | Pam Warhurst
Guerrilla gardening
Growing on verges
Volunteer gardenersWhat it's like to volunteer at a community garden
Grow Your Own
The Homegrown Movement
Community composting
The Open UniversityCommunity Composting
WWII Digging for Victory
Dig For Victory (old film)
11
Education
Students run the school
Homeschool
Pre-schoolers in old peoples’ homes
School children read better when reading to rescue dogs in shelter
Why Are Kids Reading To Shelter Animals?
12
Waste/Pollution
Ocean clean up
Boyan SlatThe 20-Year-Old With a Plan to Rid the Sea of Plastic
Salvaged food
FareShare - Making Good use of Food Surplus
Meet Skipchen: Bristol's surplus food café
Zero waste groups
Zero Waste channel
Journey to Zero Waste in the UK
13
Transport
Electric and other cars
Tesla, Google, Scandinavia
Tesla highspeed tunnels
Modular car production
Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg Design Taxonomy
Oiio presents modular car
Car sharing
Car sharing boom: What’s next after growing car-sharing schemes?
IDEO envisions future of ride-sharing with a concept for a communal car
Driverless cars (see also Tesla)
What a driverless world could look like | WanisKabbaj
Electric busses
Buses—small, electric, and automated—may be transit’s future
5 Future Buses You Must See
(Or just don’t travel so much!)
Solar roadways
Solar FREAKIN' Roadways!
Beautiful, Bike Path inspired by Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' Opens in Netherlands
Bespoke taxi or car pooling See City Eco Lab