Localization I: Adaptation for the 80% Downshift

Abstract

This project is the end‐product of year and a half long exploration of localization, a way to create more livable communities, and to help them prepare for a changing volatile world. The exercise of this project was to undertake a collaborative design process that would use localization as an adaptive strategy, and to envision the institutions and tools that could craft a resilient, equitable and sustainable food system. The process has involved research into the food systems of North America and elsewhere, examining case studies of healthy food systems in different localities. More importantly, it has involved many interviews with individuals who play integral roles within existing food systems and many collaborative brainstorming sessions. This document is not intended to provide an analysis of the research or an accounting of the experiences of others; rather it is a creative design exercise, drawing on the wisdom and ideas of many to envision new solutions. The goal of this document is to provide an image of the possible, and offer a set of interlocking strategies that a community or group of communiBes might employ to marshal their resources and build a better local food system for themselves. As such, this document is an attempt to provide the necessary tools and rough blueprint for the creation of an equitable, resilient and sustainable localized food system.