The Emerging Transition Design Approach
Abstract
This paper outlines an emerging Transition Design approach for addressing “wicked” problems (such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, crime, poverty, pollution, etc.) and catalyzing societal transitions toward more sustainable and desirable futures. Wicked problems are “systems problems” that require a new problem-solving approach. The Transition Design framework brings together an evolving body of practices that can be used to (a) visualize and “map” complex problems and their interconnections and interdependencies; (b) situate them within large, spatio-temporal contexts; (c) identify and bridge stakeholder conflicts and leverage alignments; (d) facilitate stakeholders in the co-creation of visions of desirable futures; and (e) identify leverage points for change (locations in which to situate design interventions) within the wicked problem and the socio-technical-ecological systems that form its context.
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