City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

CITY-LEVEL DECOUPLING: URBAN RESOURCE FLOWS AND THE GOVERNANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITIONS

in 2030 is ongoing as consumption has decreased from an average of 165 litres per person in 2003 200 to 157 litres in 2007, and 154 litres in 2010. 201 The Singapore government has stated that the country can be self-sufficient in water by 2061 when the water agreements with Malaysia expire. 202

What can be learnt from Singapore?

The very clear vision presented by the Singapore government following extensive public and private sector participation combined with strong commitment to action has been vital for the success observed thus far in this initiative. The focus on integrated planning at all levels and the inclusion of the public in education and awareness campaigns has also been extremely important. Citizens of the country have benefited through cost savings of energy- and water-efficient appliances following the mandatory labelling campaigns as well as through being able to enjoy the cleaner city; lifestyle events held at reservoirs and waterways increased from 74 in 2007 to 288 in 2010 signifying the increased value and appreciation that Singapore’s citizens place on its water. 203

22. The Transition Network and Community-led sustainability in Totnes, UK

By Damian Conway

The Transition Network (TN) was founded in the UK in 2007 to “inspire, encourage, connect, support and train” communities to envisage, plan and implement locally appropriate strategies for dealing with the looming pressures of peak oil and climate change. 204 TN’s mission is predicated on the belief that to successfully transform physical infrastructures for more sustainable and equitable resource flows, the underlying social infrastructure must have the capacity to participate in and preferably even drive this transformation. Rather than relying only on government to make the appropriate infrastructural investments in preparation for resource scarcity and climate change, the transition approach supports an unconventional bottom-up response that recognises the potential for motivated communities to influence and reconfigure their local infrastructures and socio-economic networks. Thus TN provides training and resources, including handbooks, courses, and documentaries, stages events and maintains a web-platform to support collective civil capacity building and action (in neighbourhoods, villages, cities, regions. 205 Although the transition approach does not prescribe outcomes and timelines, some of the older transition initiatives have drawn up their own exhaustive 15-20 year Energy Descent Action Plans (EDAPs) that are locally specific working plans for moving towards a robust, sustainable, energy efficient urban future. 206 Furthermore, although it is able to guide communities to tap into its growing network of technical experts, TN is not a technical training or information resource. However the projects that are born of the numerous transition initiatives around the world are usually very practical in nature, often interfacing with existing urban infrastructures for supplies and flows of energy, food, transport, goods and services.

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