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Composite image of urban skyline, oil drill, dense skyscraper dwellings, and windmills. Text overlay reads "A new area of design research, study and practice that proposes design-led societal transition toward more sustainable futures"
Busy street market in Mumbai
Man planting trees in water
Dutch cyclists riding in a street-side bicycle lane.
Diagram explaining features of "wicked problems" alongside photo of oil drills in the silhouetted in the sunset.
Windmills in the open water with a blue sky and clouds.

The Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University

The Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is a resource for those working toward positive, systems-level change. Societies in the 21st century face countless wicked problems—climate change, social and political polarization, economic inequity, and biodiversity loss, among many others. These are systems problems that are deeply interconnected and interdependent, and solving them will require new ways of thinking and acting over long horizons of time.

Transition Design is part of a growing global movement of scholars, researchers, and practitioners who believe that communities, organizations, and entire societies must intentionally transition toward long-term futures that are more sustainable, equitable, and desirable. This is fundamentally a design challenge—designing for transitions. Addressing these complex, systemic problems will require people from all walks of life to engage in radical collaboration across disciplines, sectors, and cultures. Solution “ecologies” must be grounded in local ecologies and cultures yet interconnected across multiple levels of scale to foster cooperation at regional and planetary levels—Cosmopolitan Localism.

The Institute’s work spans education, research, and outreach. It offers executive education programs for students, professionals, and organizations. It conducts stakeholder research on wicked problems and collaborates with nonprofit and industry partners on applied projects. The Institute also serves as a hub for news and events, hosting symposia and publishing reflections from colleagues worldwide. Doctoral research in Transition Design is a key focus, advancing the growing knowledge base in this emerging field of designing for transitions.

This site offers resources, opportunities for collaboration, and a platform for connecting a global network of people committed to designing for transitions. We invite you to explore and take part in this evolving conversation.