Summary

The food and energy crisis has created a potentially radical impetus for society change, arguably lending to a discussion of the importance of a community-based approach to resource management. Active participation of individuals can potentially empower residents to be more ecologically sensitive in their everyday lives mirroring the need of council and governmental bodies to adopt a more integrated approach to food and energy production. Co-housing developments offer a theoretical outline of the significance of community-based living that needs to be instilled in town planning. The emphasis maintained throughout is that we need localisation rather than globalisation, or at least a redefinition of the latter according to sustainable principles.