ABSTRACT
The general field of critical design studies has done more preparation than many other fields in the academy to try and think through how the material culture of post-carbon futures might be theorised and enacted. I argue in this chapter that the field is also marked by four interlinked gaps. We explore: (i) the labour gap, (ii) the expert-lay gap, (iii) the scalar gap, and finally (iv) the institutional gap in critical design studies. The chapter then goes on to consider emerging engagements between design and the Green New Deal. I argue that this space could open up new opportunities for thinking about the labours of design and the need for multi-scalar modes of design politics. But I also will suggest that critical and transition designers might still have something valuable to contribute to Green New Deal discussions.
