Went to a great workshop last week on Transition Towns - find out more here - how does a community plan for climate change and peak oil? I wonder how the Independent Republic would make such plans? Perhaps we would recycle and reuse the buildings of the Canongate that are being left to rack and ruin or waiting for the death penalty for a crime they did not commit - being old and ugly.
Perhaps on the demolition site of the old bus garage we would build sustainable social housing with green space to grow things. We would open up the council housing in the Canongate again for rent perhaps making one into a community flat. We could put planters in the land that is not in use - bottom of Cranston Street - on top of the Market building, around Canongate Venture. We could use the grant from the DTI to utilise the underground source heating for everyone. We would campaign for better bus routes around the city centre connecting houses with shops, perhaps we would open up a community shop and cafe with a food co-op.
What we don't think would be needed is more concrete (concrete contributes to 7-10% of CO2), a five star hotel and a blinking conference centre.
Anyway there were just some of the citizen's of the Independent Republic's ideas - perhaps the Old Town could look at Transition Towns for inspiration.
