ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author discusses the role of design in the Transition movement, including its origins in an ecological design approach called "permaculture". The author explores Transition's organizing practices, which are centered on community-led design. It is therefore critical to understand how prefiguration features in Transition from the perspective of design. The hope is that through the experience of the Free Store, people will "compensate for reduced consumption with an increase in something else that they consider more valuable". Transition's participatory community-led design processes are also seen as a way to maximize self-determination and autonomy. Recognizing the Transition movement as a form of community-led design highlights the many strategic dimensions of its practical, local projects. Engaging in community-led design processes as a form of prefigurative politics allows the Transition movement to achieve several aims: building relationships, reaching "beyond the choir", and encouraging autonomy, self-determination, and capacity building.
