Systems for Digital Self-Sovereignty

The digital world is evolving toward representing - and serving the interconnection of - natural persons. Instead of depending on the intrastructure of Big Tech companies and governments, users can cooperate and use their hardware to form public infrastructure. Instead of existing by virtue of a reference in some institution's database, users...

Decentralization and Disintermediation in Blockchain-based Marketplaces

Marketplaces facilitate the exchange of services, goods, and information between individuals and businesses. They play an essential role in our economy. The standard approach to devise digital marketplaces is by deploying centralized infrastructure, entirely operated and managed by a market operator. In such centralized marketplaces, trusted...

Perspectives on decentralization past, present, and future: a review of conferences in Grenoble, Milan, and Delft (2017–2019)

Decentralization has actively engaged various fields of sociology, economy, and governance in the development of urban regions and territories. As a multifaceted strategy, decentralization contributes to enrich our understanding of national and international forces, power struggles, economic factors, and their impacts on the built environment....

Satellite Sanitary Systems in Kampala, Uganda

Satellite sewage collection and treatment systems have been independently developed and managed in East African cities outside the centrally planned and sewered areas. A satellite approach is a promising provisioning option parallel to public sewerage for middle- and high-income residential areas, endowed institutions, and government facilities....

Trapped between institutions and politics: The role of politics and social dynamics in institutional performance for flood defense management in Jakarta, Indonesia

Flood defense management in Jakarta is a critical governmental activity given that Jakarta is a low-lying delta metropolis and trade center which relies on its safety for the continuity of the economic activities. Despite the urgency for action flood defense policy implementation was a lengthy and strenuous process that lasted 30 years (1973...