In laying out a homestead, one typically starts with one’s home (Zone 0) and the space immediately surrounding it (Zone 1). Zone 1 is where Permaculturalists typically locate their annual vegetable and herb gardens because they need to be irrigated and tended to every day during the growing season. One might keep bees, livestock, and compost in Zone 2. Zone 3 is usually where perennial crops, such as fruit trees, are grown. Zone 4 is often reserved for foraging, and Zone 5 is meant to be left entirely wild.

In the context of evolutionary change, Zone 0 can be thought of as our personal development work, the foundation upon which everything else rests. Zone 1 represents home and family life; Zone 2, our involvement in our wider community; Zone 3, any regional or national influence we might have; and Zone 4, whatever impact we’re able to muster on a global scale. I tend to think of Zone 5 as the vast universe beyond Earth, which remains almost entirely beyond human interference and understanding.

The structure of the Transition Movement is best understood as a series of nested circles in which each circle is self-organizing, while also being accountable both towards the larger circles it’s a part of as well as the smaller circles it supports. Transition Initiatives are supported by regional and national Transition Hubs, some of which have banded together into Territories. They are supported by internationally by Transition Network and the Hubs Group, which acts as a more representative body for the movement.

Diffusion of Innovations Theory suggests that movement-building is inevitably a gradual process that unfolds in five distinct waves. By first gaining the support of Innovators and Early Adopters, we can more easily persuade the Early Majority. Then, as more and more members of the Early Majority come onboard, that can lead to a tipping point, sweeping the Late Majority and maybe even some Laggards along as well.