ABSTRACT
This chapter takes the issue of access to low-cost and sustainable housing as a lens through which to explore the possibilities of low carbon transitions in cities. In a normative and broadly supportive way it uses a close examination of low-impact sustainable housing and livelihood projects in rural areas (defined as Low Impact Developments,1 LIDs) to advocate a social movements approach to shaping transitions in cities. This chapter is empathic and interactive rather than extractive and objective – a reflection of the participatory and embedded way in which the research was undertaken. Such an approach is necessary if we are to assess the normative worth of, and assertively advocate more inclusive and sustainable forms of, transition. However, this stance does not dismiss the importance of critique, and the chapter identifies the constraints and tensions in adopting a social movements approach.
