Here are some examples of how different Transition Universities have
identified their communities and their experiences of the initiating processes.
Transition Edinburgh University
Community makeup: Staff and students at the university.
Process: When starting up, the initiative was very aware of already existing Transition groups in Edinburgh, and was cautious not to intrude in any of their project areas. Their community was therefore seen as exclusively within the university structures.
Transition University of St Andrews
Community makeup: The University of St Andrews is located in a small town. Initially, 'community' was seen to be solely within the university, but over time the interdependence
of town and gown was recognised - for example, the university owns a lot of land in the town, including the Botanical Gardens. and what happens on that land also affects the local
population. Now the Transition University group sees its community as including students,
staff and townspeople.
Process: Prior to starting, there were many environmental projects, especially from the student population. Many of the university-centred projects also influence the town residents, and vice versa, so it is a natural evolution for people with shared values from both town and gown to come together and work on projects. The sense of identity that e.g. hall of residence, departments, and sports clubs lend to people has been used when planning projects (for example community gardens are specifically established by nearby halls or departments). There are thus also sub-communities around major projects (e.g. community gardens, skillshare, bike project). You can read more detail about this initiative in White and Harder (2013).
Case Studies [Initiating]
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