Centralization and Decentralization for Resilient Infrastructure

Pervasive across infrastructure literature and discourse are the concepts of centralized, decentralized, and distributed systems, and there appears to be growing interest in how these configurations support or hinder adaptive and transformative capacities towards resilience. There does not appear to be a concerted effort to align how these concepts are used, and what different configurations mean for infrastructure systems. This is problematic because how infrastructure are structured and governed directly affects their capabilities to respond to increasing complexity. Dr. Alysha Helmrich recommends a multi-dimensional framing of de/centralization through a network-governance perspective where capabilities to shift between stability and instability are paramount and information is a critical mediator.

Articles:
De/centralization - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2634-4505/ac0a4f
Leadership - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsc.2022.791474/full

Follow our guest on Twitter: @AlyshaHelmrich

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