Assignments – Transition Design Seminar CMU

The Transition Design Approach Emphasizes:

The need to frame problems within radically large, spatio-temporal contexts that include the past (how the problem evolved over long periods of time), present (how the problem manifests at different levels of scale) and future (visions of the long-term future in which the problem has been resolved).

The n

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At what level of scale will the intervention be situated? • How does this project connect and amplify with the others? • How does the intervention connect to both the long-term vision and the near-term milestone(s) ? • Does it represent changes in material (artifacts/processes/ technology/policy etc) or non-material factors (attitudes/beliefs/ valu... See more

Two: Create Meaningful Change According to Peter Senge, most problems we face today are a result of yesterday's solutions. When we look at the big picture and see how it all fits together, we can identify opportunities that make sense for the whole. A Theory of Change is a framework for thinking about change interventions. We need to analyze the pa... See more

Designing interventions within a large, Transition Design project will require transdisciplinary teams working over long periods of time in a co-design process with stakeholders themselves. How can continuity be maintained over long periods of time when actors are continually changing?

in mapping the historical evolution of a wicked problem, we must identify the events, beliefs, attitudes, innovations and norms within the landscape, regime and niche levels, but we must also learn to understand the complex systems dynamics at work within the whole.