With lots of great projects happening, such as the community gardens and the cycleway campaign, Port Chalmers is ideally suited to become a "Transition Town" and deal with climate change, a port resident says.
Jonathon Clearwater, one of six people behind the proposal, said becoming a transition town was "a really positive thing" which could bring all community projects together.
Transition Towns is an international movement which helps communities come up with local solutions to meet the challenges of climate change and the loss of cheap energy sources, particularly oil.
The movement is gaining traction in New Zealand, with more than 50 towns registered on the Transition Towns website.
Becoming a Transition Town helped ignite and support local ideas and bring them all together in a co-ordinated plan, Mr Clearwater said in proposal to be considered by the Chalmers Community Board tomorrow.
"These changes can lead to the rebirth of local communities, which will grow more of their own food, trade locally and perhaps even generate some of their own power."
Becoming a Transition Town also allowed people to see their projects were part of something bigger. Towns could share ideas about what they were doing and how they had done it to help other towns learn from their experiences.
Port Chalmers was a "great community" with a lot going on, Mr Clearwater said. "It is really active and it is nice to live here." Mr Clearwater is seeking the support of the community board for the proposal.
"It is a matter of putting the word out to other people in the community to see if they think it is a good idea."