Global Stability through Decentralization?: In Search for the Right Balance between Central and Decentral Solutions (Strategies for Sustainability)

"The authors of this book, who represent a broad range of scientific disciplines, discuss the issue of centralized versus decentralized control and regulation in the context of sustainable development. The stability and resilience of complex technical, economic, societal and political systems are commonly assumed to be highly dependent on the effectiveness of sophisticated, mainly centralized regulation and control systems and governance structures, respectively. In nature, however, life is mainly self-regulated by widespread, mainly DNA-encoded control mechanisms. The fact that life has endured for more than 2.4 billion years suggests that, for man-made systems, decentralized control concepts are superior to centralized ones. The authors discuss benefits and drawbacks of both approaches to achieving sustainability, providing valuable information for students and professional decision makers alike." -- Back cover Front Matter....Pages i-xxvii Regulation and Control Processes in Ecosystems....Pages 1-19 Control and Management of Man-Made Systems....Pages 21-73 Governance of Societies....Pages 75-115 Towards Sustainable Economies....Pages 117-138 Sanitary Engineering: Central or Decentral Solutions?....Pages 139-164 Communication, Mobility and Logistics....Pages 165-180 The Wildbad-Kreuth-Declaration....Pages 181-191 Erratum to: Global Stability through Decentralization?....Pages E1-E2 Back Matter....Pages 193-200