Relocalization is a strategy coined by the Post Carbon Institute, and represents a proactive and cooperative response to the global crises of peak oil, climate change, and the economic deterioration and social fragmentation caused by corporate globalization.

Relocalization is the rebuilding of our societies on a human scale, forging strong local economies based on mutually beneficial cooperation instead of predatory competition, meeting people’s real needs instead of manufacturing desires, and respecting the natural environment that is the basis of our existence.

Relocalization is an essential adaptation to the depletion of non-renewable resources (oil, natural gas, coal, and even water), and a solution to global warming and other ecological crises.

It focuses on local and sustainable production of food, energy, and goods, in tune with the ecological bounds of each region. It is a logical and inevitable replacement for the failing religion of perpetual economic growth.

Relocalization means the democratization of our social, economic, and political lives — an antidote to the community disempowerment and “race to the bottom” fostered by corporate globalization. Regaining control over our future is the key to building healthier, happier, stronger, and more equitable communities throughout the Commonwealth and beyond.