We find ourselves between a rock and a hot place compelled by the intertwining forces of peak oil and climate change to reinvent our economic life at a much more local and regional scale. The Resilience Imperative argues for a major SEE (Social, Ecological, Economic) Change as a prerequisite for replacing the paradigm of limitless economic growth with a more decentralized, cooperative, steady-state economy.

The authors present a comprehensive series of strategic questions within the broad areas of:

• Energy sufficiency
• Local food systems
• Low-cost financing
• Affordable housing and land reform
• Democratic ownership and sustainability.

Each section is complemented by case studies of pioneering community initiatives rounded out by a discussion of transition factors and resilience reflections.

With a focus on securing and sustaining change, this provocative book challenges deeply embedded cultural assumptions. Profoundly hopeful and inspiring, The Resilience Imperative affirms the possibilities of positive change as it is shaped by individuals, communities and institutions learning to live within our ecological limits.

Michael Lewis is the Executive Director of the Center for Community Enterprise and is well-known internationally as a practitioner, author, educator and leader in the field of Community Economic Development and the Social Economy.

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Pat Conaty is a Fellow of New Economies foundation and a research associate of Community Finance Solutions at the University of Salford. Pat specializes in developmental research on cooperative and mutual enterprise and is a national expert in the fields of community development finance and community land trusts.

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