Gideon Kossoff

Gideon Kossoff is Special Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design, where he teaches and researches transition design and ecoliteracy. His work bridges philosophical holism, ecological worldview theory, and decentralist traditions (e.g., Lewis Mumford, Jane Jacobs, Murray Bookchin, Vandana Shiva), arguing for their integration with chaos theory, complexity science, and systems economics.

• PhD in Design from University of Dundee
• Co-founder of Transition Design Institute
• Collaborator with Terry Irwin, Cameron Tonkinwise, and global transition networks

His research focuses on:

• Ecological worldview as a foundation for sustainable transitions
• Cosmopolitan Localism: planetary networking of place-based communities
• Recontextualizing everyday life through holistic design frameworks
• Co-design methodologies for socio-technical-ecological systems
• Interdisciplinary applications of social ecology and Goethean science

Recent publications analyze:

• 2024: Wicked problem resolution strategies
• 2019: Multi-scale ecological networking principles
• 2015: Foundations of transition design education

He previously taught at Schumacher College's MSc in Holistic Science program and maintains a curated library of ecological worldview literature. His work synthesizes anarchist theory, systems science, and design practice to address 21st-century sustainability challenges.