Transition Towns Initiatives: local practices for a sustainable development

The aim of this contribution is Transition Towns movement, experiments in the re-location of resources on a micro scale, currently encompassing more than a thousand initiatives on a global scale. The goal of Transition Towns is to build resilient communities putting in place local practices aimed at environmental, food and energy sustainability, i.e. growing vegetables in urban context, self-production of energy and the use of complementary local currency. The paper focuses on the case-study of York (UK). Starting from a picture of local sustainability policies and actions, also according to the targets set by the UK national government, we analyze York Transition Town initiative, describing its seven sustainability local projects developed by several volunteer dwellers and their connections with the local Administration, in order to build an urban sustainable development. The case study of York, in its specificity, provides some insights on the role of grassroots initiatives as possible catalysts in the diffusion of sustainable lifestyles in micro contexts such as urban neighborhoods and, at the same time, how the virtuous circle of relations triggered by Transition bottom-up initiatives could become the subject of a progressive attention by the local political institutions. Projects within the local community can encourage civil society awareness for environmental issues, mobilizing local resources, knowledge and social capital, supporting at the same time local Governments in building a sustainable development and a socio-environmental responsibility, also according to increasing top-down environmental targets and prescriptions coming from the macroinstitutions.