Working towards a low carbon community

Which aspect of your life would be most affected by a lack of transport?

Due to the imminent fuel crisis, access to everyday services may become restricted:

Supermarket deliveries and easy access to foodTransport to visit family

Travelling to workAccess to education

Medical / Emergency Services Deliveries of clothing to shops

Please think about which aspects above would most effect your current everyday way of life.

Our derive

Over the space of 8 hours we asked people to join us and explore their local community by walking instead of taking the bus.

We started to talk to people at the bus stop outside Roehampton University main entrance and persuaded these strangers to walk with us to Barnes station.

Although many people were reluctant to participate, some were genuinely concerned about the future fuel crisis and wanted to get involved.

We began by walking in the bus lane with them, but then showed them an alternative route which only pedestrians can access.

The detour only added 8 minutes to their journey and most participant’s admitted that they had no idea the route existed.

Many were genuinely impressed by the amenities and park areas that are hidden – yet are just a moment’s walk from their everyday route.

During the walk, we encouraged conversation centred on aspects of the future as they see it.

As we approached the end of our ten minute walk, we asked each person to give us a small object. This object would represent their co-operation with - and desire for – a lower carbon future.

• BUS PHOTOS

We aimed to create a bond with the people that we spoke to. In the short period of time that we spent with them, we partook in a transition from an uncomfortable type of non-relationship that you have when you first encounter a stranger, to a bond built on a few minutes of conversation about something which connects us…our future.

With conversation focussed on the 7 outlined aspects of our everyday lives - which have the potential to be drastically altered as fuel supplies lessen – we gave participants an opportunity to think about their current lifestyle – and how they rely on easy, fuel-assisted transportation.

We have quoted some of their opinions of what their idea of the future is.

But FIRST we would like you to imagine that fuel levels have hit crisis point and your everyday life is about to change. Today.

You now have 1 minute to think about your response to the following questions.

5. What will you miss?

6. To what degree will your life will be affected?

7. How will you survive?

How will you cope?

The Past The Present

We will be forced to re-localise our amenities – and revert to methods used in the past

Supermarket supply:

‘We would basically just have to revert to old methods of transport for delivery, such as horse and cart and barges. There would definitely be less imported food and so less variety of food on shelves. More local and home-grown food would be produced and some shops would close. Delivery time would also take longer so you would have to pre-plan your meals for a long time, or neighbours would have to help each other.’

Christina, 19

Food locally sourced:

‘Well we wouldn’t be able to just pop down the local newsagents for a pint of milk, that’s for sure...It would be like converting back to the past.’

Thom, 21

Family visits:

‘I would definitely see them less often, as most of my family live in Devon. It would probably be really expensive to get to them so maybe family relationships would be affected.’

Eva, 34

Work:

‘We would need to use bikes more to travel and possibly think over a re-positioning of location for work, or even think about getting a new, more local job.’

Elliot, 44

Education:

‘Children would have to be home schooled and university degrees would become a rarity. Or maybe all students would have to live on-site, with fewer trips home. Education would probably become reliant upon local help.’

Gabi, 23

Medical:

‘There would be less medication readily available as fuel are needed to make a lot of pills. I actually think there would be higher mortality rates.’

Marlon, 24

Clothing and necessities:

‘Well… you’d have to make your own clothes, get sheep for wool. It would be really exciting!’

Sarah, 19

• How did your viewpoint relate to those of the people we walked with?

• Are your views similar or extremely different?

In looking at the way in which transport has changed over the last few centuries we have explored instances from the past where facilities have been limited. This helped us to comprehend a life without fuel-based transportation.

An elderly couple told us how they survived England in the 1970’s during a period of heavy snowfall, during which virtually any mode of transportation was impossible.

Please find the sound clip uploaded on our wiki site.

How did they cope?

This exercise was devised with the intention of motivating you all to go out and explore your community, working towards a low carbon style of everyday life.