title: Effect of infrastructure design on commons dilemmas in social-ecological system dynamics.
abstract: The use of shared infrastructure to direct natural processes for the benefit of humans has been a central feature of human social organization for millennia. Today, more than ever, people interact with one another and the environment through shared human-made infrastructure (the Internet, transportation, the energy grid, etc.). However, there has been relatively little work on how the design characteristics of shared infrastructure affect the dynamics of social-ecological systems (SESs) and the capacity of groups to solve social dilemmas associated with its provision. Developing such understanding is especially important in the context of global change where design criteria must consider how specific aspects of infrastructure affect the capacity of SESs to maintain vital functions in the face of shocks. Using small-scale irrigated agriculture (the most ancient and ubiquitous example of public infrastructure systems) as a model system, we show that two design features related to scale and the structure of benefit flows can induce fundamental changes in qualitative behavior, i.e., regime shifts. By relating the required maintenance threshold (a design feature related to infrastructure scale) to the incentives facing users under different regimes, our work also provides some general guidance on determinants of robustness of SESs under globalization-related stresses.
authors.affiliation: Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; Department of Political Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; Center for Behavior, Institutions, and the Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287; Center for the Environment, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; davidyu@purdue.edu.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287;
authors.forename: Murad R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Qubbaj
authors.affiliation: Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611;
authors.forename: Rachata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muneepeerakul
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavior, Institutions, and the Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287; School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287; School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Anderies
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavior, Institutions, and the Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287; School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287;
authors.forename: Rimjhim M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004779:Environment Design; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012931:Social Environment; D013597:Systems Analysis
keywords: infrastructure; irrigation; resilience; robustness; social−ecological system