VEIL and the McCaughey Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing are collaborating on a project to strengthen the awareness and understanding of distributed systems. This work began in February 2009.
Why this research?There is a rapidly growing interest in distributed systems as an alternative model for the provision of socially critical resources (energy, water and food). This is occurring in response to a deepening awareness of the vulnerability of existing production and consumption systems to the challenges of climate change and resource scarcity, particularly oil. Simultaneously there is an increasing understanding of how localised and networked systems can act as a catalyst for social innovation and as sources of social connectedness, citizen engagement and community resilience.
What are 'distributed systems' ?
The distributed model sees infrastructure and critical service systems (for water, energy and food etc.) positioned close to resources and points of demand. Individual systems may operate as separate adaptive units but are also nested within ever-wider networks of exchange - at the local, regional or global level. Services traditionally provided by large, centralised systems are instead delivered via the collective capacity of many smaller diverse systems. Each is tailored to the needs and opportunities of unique locations but has the capacity to transfer resources across a much wider area.
What is VEIL doing?
Work on distributed systems at VEIL involves research, investigation and communication aimed at:
- Producing a series of briefing papers exploring the environmental, social and economic value of distributed systems.
- Increasing broader understanding of the diversity of distributed systems and the contexts in which they emerge.
- Informing the policy and design work of VEIL and of the McCaughey Centre
Distributed Systems Articles