A global conference on the 'shape' of a sustainable future.
A unique opportunity for knowledge sharing and ‘what-if’ collaboration to:
- explore the value of distributed systems as a response to urgent environmental, social and economic challenges – particularly those relating to climate change;
- engage multi-disciplinary practitioners, theorists, researchers, designers and activists to consider projects and visions for sustainable futures enabled by distributed systems;
- identify priorities for future action: research; innovation; the design of products services and built environments; policy development.
An initiative of The Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (ACSIS) and the McCaughey Centre, the University of Melbourne, Australia
Conference Chairs: Prof Chris Ryan and Prof John Wiseman
Background – the concept of distributed systems.
Distributed systems as a model.
“Distributed systems, in the sense that it is used in this context, presents an alternative model for the economy and well-being, based on networked small(er) scale systems of production and consumption that are re-localised, so that they utilise regional resources, increase diversity of productive cultures and goods and services, strengthen communities and increase socio-technical innovation.”
Ryan C. The Melbourne 2032 project. 2008 Changing the Change, Torino Italy.
Distributed systems are gaining international attention as an alternative model for the provision of socially critical resources (energy, water, food, transport) in response to the urgent challenge of climate change (mitigation and adaptation) and resource scarcity. In simplest terms this new model proposes that production and consumption should be much more decentralised, reversing a long trend to larger scale ‘globalised’ systems, reasserting the value of local and regional resources and increased diversity of productive cultures, goods and services. The term ‘distributed’ is used because it means more than ‘decentralised’ – ‘re-localisation’ of production and consumption takes place within networks of interdependence which still exist at larger scales – regional, national, global.
The time for revolutionary systems change.
Last year, before the global recession, the rapid rise in the price of oil generated real uncertainty about the viability of many production chains that were suddenly recognised as vulnerable to increases in transportation costs. The price of oil will certainly rise again when the economy improves. The introduction of carbon pricing, as a mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas production, will amplify the pricing effects of oil scarcity. The 'shape' of systems of production and consumption and the infrastructure of life in industrialised economies forged through an extraordinary era of cheap and plentiful fossil fuels will be forced to change. Some significant ‘re-localisation’ of all economies appears inevitable.
Decarbonising economies (fast enough to affect climate change) is a daunting task, it will require reductions in consumption, changes to fuels and energy production and large improvements in energy efficiency across all areas of use. Distributed energy systems will clearly be a part of this change.
The physical impacts of climate change are likely to be significant and far-reaching, even with the most optimistic scenarios for global action to reduce greenhouse gases. Our existing productive systems, established infrastructure and built environments and the patterns of our daily life, have been forged around our accumulated knowledge, our recorded experience and understanding, of the predictable range of weather patterns (rainfall, temperature, wind, storms, ocean currents and sea levels). Perhaps the biggest challenge presented by climate change is the re-shaping of human settlements so that they are resilient in the face of changing, and increasingly unpredictable, weather patterns. Distributed systems – networked decentralised systems – appear to offer greater resilience for society as a whole.
Interest in distributed systems is being driven by learning from a range of fields including information systems; renewable energy; water; food; economic development, health, wellbeing and community resilience. There is increasing understanding of the importance of localised production systems and local networks as catalysts for social innovation and as important sources of social connectedness, citizen engagement and community resilience.
Design, innovation and ‘disruptive systems’.
We face the urgent challenge of freeing ourselves from our past dependence on high consumption, ‘high carbon’ economies, to move rapidly to a low consumption, low-carbon existence – and to increase social well-being in the process. Distributed systems challenge the underlying logic of economic and social development that has been dominant since the first industrial revolution; they may be the basis of a ‘disruptive innovation’ that will bring about this transformation.
Community resilience and sustainability
Whilst the benefits of distributed system are most apparent as a response to climate change – improving system efficiencies, ‘decarbonising’ energy, adapting to changes in resource availability - they also connect strongly with broader ideas about ‘resilience’ and the ability of communities (social and bio-physical) to recover from external shocks. Distributed systems are seen as a way of strengthening democratic governance and reducing inequalities of power, enabling people to respond effectively when critical systems are challenged. Patterns of urban development and resource flows can significantly affect community resilience. For essential resources, at least, increasing the diversity of supply and shortening the connection between production and consumption may be important new objectives for designing more resilient societies.
Renewable energy and water
Distributed models for the production, distribution and consumption of critical resources have gained acceptance over the last decades from the success of information and communications systems (particularly the internet) and grid-connected renewable energy sources (particularly solar PV and wind). In both those cases the new systems approach represents a significant shift in thinking about the logic of resource infrastructure and management, away from large-scale ‘centralised’ systems to networked smaller-scale decentralised systems.
Whilst the growth of distributed renewable-energy systems in Australia has lagged behind other countries, a shift to distributed thinking is evident in the response to critical water shortages emerging over the last decades. We already accept that a significant proportion of what was previously considered storm water (rainwater ‘out of place’) will have to be retained for localised use, to be supplemented by some proportion of recovered ‘waste water’. A distributed approach to meeting our water needs, involving the retention of rainfall and localised purification and distribution systems, has some clear structural similarities to developments in distributed energy. In both renewable energy and water the shift to more distributed systems is partly a reflection of the distributed nature of the resource (wind, sun, rain) but it also recognises that, in may circumstances, networked decentralised systems of production and consumption are more resource efficient and therefore more economically productive.
Bio-fuels and food
The development of bio-energy with the conversion of plants into heat, power and/or ethanol, shows a clear trend towards distributed, localised systems, necessitated by the energetics and economics of bio-feed transportation – typically something in the order of a 50 km radius.
The challenge to the sustainability and security of food systems, from rising transport costs and increasing costs of water and fertilisers, is raising new prospects for a more distributed system of food production. There is a an evident and growing interest world-wide in the re-localisation of food systems, where some (appropriately selected) foodstuff is grown, distributed and consumed within more confined regional and local communities. Interest in local food production does not stem only from concern about environmental and resource costs, it also reflects a cultural/social desire to re-connect with the processes of production of ‘life critical’ resources. As a recent UK government report concludes in relation to the desire for ‘local food’:
“The increasing demand for ‘local food’ has multiple motivations, …wanting to support local food producers, …interest in provenance and its associations with quality, … perception of lower environmental impact. The local food movement can play a part in reconnecting consumers with food producers, providing new market opportunities for farmers and small-scale food manufacturers, strengthening social capital within communities, and providing a focus for local economic development.” Food Matters. UK Cabinet Office July 2008. [15]
Economic development
Distributed systems open up new opportunities for development aimed at maximising the value of regional markets. New design and development projects within cities, towns and communities around the world seek to transform the old infrastructure for energy, water, sewerage, and so on, based on distributed systems approaches.
Social justice, connectedness, health and well-being
There is extensive evidence of the strong relationships between social justice, social connectedness and the health and resilience of individuals and communities. Distributed systems provide important platforms for the development of strong and diverse social networks and of high levels of social inclusion and citizen engagement.
Democratic governance
A wide range of key questions and challenges need to be addressed about the principles and models for governing and linking distributed systems.
CONFERENCE TOPICS
resilience | innovation | energy | water | food | transport | cities | economic development | strengthening communities | social connectedness | health and well-being | democracy |
CONFERENCE PROGRAM THEMES
design – with and for distributed systems: products, buildings, communities, services – projects, concepts, visions
modelling and evaluation – the value of distributed systems
technology development – new installations, prototypes, research
social and economic justice - community development – implications of distributed systems
policy, governance and finance – decision making, resourcing and management.
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