Climate change is a global phenomenon with real, tangible, and potentially dire impacts at the local scale. The 12-week project investigation piloted an emergent and flexible design process that responded to the needs of each student’s efforts. In this studio, students individually identified a climate challenge based on their review of Hawken’s Drawndown (2017), identified a project in a location and scope of their choosing; inform themselves (and their peers) about the place and critical socio-ecological systems; and develop a designed intervention. Given the transdisciplinary nature of climate change and the range of projects, students were supported with theory and methods across social and ecological fields (from the instructor or other disciplinary experts) throughout the semester. The resulting products illustrate the wide range of places, scales, and people affected by climate change and innovative solutions for addressing climatic impacts through local design intervention.
