Transition Design: A Proposal for a New Area of Design Practice, Study, and Research

Fundamental change at every level of our society, and new approaches to problem solving are needed to address twenty-first-century “wicked problems” such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, depletion of natural resources, and the widening gap between rich and poor. Transition Design is a proposition for a new area of design practice, study, and research that advocates design-led societal transition toward more sustainable futures. This reconception of entire lifestyles will involve reimagining infrastructures including energy resources, the economy and food, healthcare, and education. Transition Design focuses on the need for “cosmopolitan localism,” a lifestyle that is place-based and regional, yet global in its awareness and exchange of information and technology. Transition Designers would apply a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of social, economic, and natural systems and the Transition Design framework proposes four key areas in which narratives, knowledge, skills, and action can be developed.