With large, centralised infrastructure appearing vulnerable to climate change and ‘peak oil’, alternative models are emerging everywhere.
Energy, water and food are being delivered via networked, localised production and consumption systems that lower carbon, increase efficiency, build resilience and strengthen local economies. This ‘distributed’ systems model is over-turning old ideas of services and is re-shaping our image of the future. Communities are active adopters of solar panels, wind generators, rainwater tanks and neighbourhood gardens. Consumers are redefining themselves as part-producers of critical resources. This is an evolution just beginning.
To understand the nature of these ‘localised solutions’, the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (VEIL) and the McCaughey Centre organised a forum in Melbourne at the end of 2009. That event explored the value and implications of local initiatives that follow the distributed systems model. The forum brought together perspectives from the private sector, utilities, non-profit organisations and research bodies - reflecting the diversity of examples in Victoria.
VEIL has now produced a briefing paper which presents the forums key findings structured around three themes:
· The shape of localised solutions and their parallels with distributed systems
· Implications for adapting to climate change and resource scarcity
· The factors enabling and limiting further development of localised solutions
Download the paper