Comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives on the current trend in the developing world of devolving political and economic power to local governments.

Is sewer-based wastewater treatment really the optimal technical solution in urban water management? This paradigm is increasingly being questioned. Growing water scarcity and the insight that water will be an important limiting factor for the quality of urban life are main drivers for new approaches in wastewater management. Source Separation and Decentralization for Wastewater Management sets up a comprehensive view of the resources involved in urban water management. It explores the potential of source separation and decentralization to provide viable alternatives to sewer-based urban water management. During the 1990s, several research groups started working on source-separating technologies for wastewater treatment. Source separation was not new, but had only been propagated as a cheap and environmentally friendly technology for the poor. The novelty was the discussion whether source separation could be a sustainable alternative to existing end-of-pipe systems, even in urban areas and industrialized countries. Since then, sustainable resource management and many different source-separating technologies have been investigated. The theoretical framework and also possible technologies have now developed to a more mature state. At the same time, many interesting technologies to process combined or concentrated wastewaters have evolved, which are equally suited for the treatment of source-separated domestic wastewater. The book presents a comprehensive view of the state of the art of source separation and decentralization. It discusses the technical possibilities and practical experience with source separation in different countries around the world. The area is in rapid development, but many of the fundamental insights presented in this book will stay valid. Source Separation and Decentralization for Wastewater Management is intended for all professionals and researchers interested in wastewater management, whether or not they are familiar with source separation. Editors: Tove A. Larsen, Kai M. Udert and Judit Lienert, Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland. Contributors: Yuval Alfiya, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Prof. Dr. M. Bruce Beck, University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Dr. Christian Binz, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Prof. em. Dr. Markus Boller, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Urban Water Management (SWW); Prof. Dr. Eran Friedler, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Zenah Bradford-Hartke, The University of New South Wales, School of Chemical Engineering and UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology; Dr. Shelley Brown-Malker, Very Small Particle Company Ltd; Bert Bundervoet, Ghent University, Laboratory Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET); Prof. Dr. David Butler, University of Exeter, Centre for Water Systems; Dr. Christopher A. Buzie, Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection; Dr. Dana Cordell, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF); Dr. Vasileios Diamantis, Democritus University of Thrace, Department of Environmental Engineering; Prof. Dr. Jan Willem Erisman, Louis Bolk Institute; VU University Amsterdam, Department of Earth Sciences; Barbara Evans, University of Leeds, School of Civil Engineering; Prof. Dr. Malin Falkenmark, Stockholm International Water Institute; Dr. Ted Gardner, Central Queensland University, Institute for Resource Industries and Sustainability; Dr. Heiko Gebauer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Prof. em. Dr. Willi Gujer, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ), Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (BAUG); Prof. Dr. Bruce Jefferson, Cranfield University, Cranfield Water Science Institute; Prof. Dr. Paul Jeffrey, Cranfield University, Cranfield Water Science Institute; Sarina Jenni, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Prof. Dr. Håkan Jönsson, SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Energy and Technology; Prof. Dr. Ïsik Kabdasli, Ïstanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty; Prof. Dr. Jörg Keller, The University of Queensland, Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC); Prof. Dr. Klaus Kömmerer, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Institute of Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry; Dr. Katarzyna Kujawa-Roeleveld, Wageningen University, Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group; Dr. Tove A. Larsen, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Urban Water Management (SWW); Michele Laureni, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Prof. Dr. Gregory Leslie, The University of New South Wales, School of Chemical Engineering and UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology; Dr. Harold Leverenz, University of California at Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Dr. Judit Lienert, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Social Sciences (ESS); Prof. Dr. Jürg Londong, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Department of Urban Water Management and Sanitation; Dr. Christoph Lüthi, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (Sandec); Prof. Dr. Max Maurer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Urban Water Management (SWW); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ), Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering; Prof. em. Dr. Gustaf Olsson, Lund University, Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE); Prof. Dr. Ralf Otterpohl, Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection; Dr. Bert Palsma, STOWA, Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Research; Dr. Arne R. Panesar, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH; Prof. Dr. Bruce E. Rittmann, Arizona State University, Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology; Prof. Dr. Hansruedi Siegrist, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Dr. Ashok Sharma, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia, Land and Water Division; Prof. Dr. Thor Axel Stenström, Stockholm Environment Institute, Bioresources Group; Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Mathematical Science and Technology; Dr. Eckhard Störmer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Bjartur Swart, STOWA, Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Research; MWH North Europe; Prof. em. Dr. George Tchobanoglous, University of California at Davis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Elizabeth Tilley, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries (Sandec); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ), Centre for Development and Cooperation (NADEL); Prof. Dr. Bernhard Truffer, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology; Innovation Research in Utility Sectors (Cirus); Prof. Dr. Olcay Tünay, Ïstanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty; Dr. Kai M. Udert, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Process Engineering Department (Eng); Prof. em. Dr. Willy Verstraete, Ghent University, Laboratory Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET); Prof. Dr. Björn Vinnerås, SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Energy and Technology; Prof. Dr. Urs von Gunten, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Water Resources and Drinking Water (W+T); Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL),School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC); Prof. em. Dr. Peter A. Wilderer, Technische Universität München, Institute for Advanced Study; Prof. Dr. Jun Xia, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Center for Water Resources Research and Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Surface Processes; Prof. Dr. Grietje Zeeman, Wageningen University, Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group

A Brookings Institution Press and Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation publication The trend toward greater decentralization of governance activities, now accepted as commonplace in the West, has become a worldwide movement. This international development—largely a product of globalization and democratization—is clearly one of the key factors reshaping economic, political, and social conditions throughout the world. Rather than the top-down, centralized decisionmaking that characterized communist economies and Third World dictatorships in the twentieth century, today's world demands flexibility, adaptability, and the autonomy to bring those qualities to bear. In this thought-provoking book, the first in a new series on Innovations in Governance, experts in government and public management trace the evolution and performance of decentralization concepts, from the transfer of authority within government to the sharing of power, authority, and responsibilities among broader governance institutions. This movement is not limited to national government—it also affects subnational governments, NGOs, private corporations, and even civil associations. The contributors assess the emerging concepts of decentralization (e.g., devolution, empowerment, capacity building, and democratic governance). They detail the factors driving the movement, including political changes such as the fall of the Iron Curtain and the ascendance of democracy; economic factors such as globalization and outsourcing; and technological advances (e.g. increased information technology and electronic commerce). Their analysis covers many different contexts and regions. For example, William Ascher of Claremont McKenna College chronicles how decentralization concepts are playing out in natural resources policy, while Kadmeil Wekwete (United Nations) outlines the specific challenges to decentralizing governance in sub-Saharan Africa. In each case, contributors explore the objectives of a decentralizing strategy as well as the benefits and difficulties that will likely result.

Faguet identifies the factors that determine the outcomes of national decentralization on the local level

How Control Exists after Decentralization Is the Internet a vast arena of unrestricted communication and freely exchanged information or a regulated, highly structured virtual bureaucracy? In Protocol, Alexander Galloway argues that the founding principle of the Net is control, not freedom, and that the controlling power lies in the technical protocols that make network connections (and disconnections) possible. He does this by treating the computer as a textual medium that is based on a technological language, code. Code, he argues, can be subject to the same kind of cultural and literary analysis as any natural language; computer languages have their own syntax, grammar, communities, and cultures. Instead of relying on established theoretical approaches, Galloway finds a new way to write about digital media, drawing on his backgrounds in computer programming and critical theory. "Discipline-hopping is a necessity when it comes to complicated socio-technical topics like protocol," he writes in the preface. Galloway begins by examining the types of protocols that exist, including TCP/IP, DNS, and HTML. He then looks at examples of resistance and subversion—hackers, viruses, cyberfeminism, Internet art—which he views as emblematic of the larger transformations now taking place within digital culture. Written for a nontechnical audience, Protocol serves as a necessary counterpoint to the wildly utopian visions of the Net that were so widespread in earlier days.

Entrepreneurs as well as seasoned business leaders are struggling to innovate and stay ahead of change in the age of decentralization. What separates the companies that get disrupted from the ones that thrive when faced with decentralization? What tactics can be deployed to decentralize large monolithic organizations? Drawing on their experience as researchers and tech entrepreneurs, Professors Calcaterra and Kaal show how to Learn to embrace the change that comes with decentralization Evolve technology, communication, and culture as the business encounters decentralization Use best practices to maintain profitability in the emerging environments of decentralization across industries Combine responsibility with velocity to leverage the advantages of decentralization for the common good The book examines the core infrastructure elements that are needed before the first genuinely decentralized transaction can happen including a legal environment, underwriting, a truly decentralized blockchain that can overcome the blockchain trilemma (decentralization, scaling, security), and efficient governance of blockchains. Decentralization is essential reading for businesses seeking to win in an increasingly decentralized world where adaptation speed is the competitive advantage that matters most.

Reviews recent lessons about decentralized governance and implications for future development programs and policies.