New perspectives on inverse infrastructures

This paper explores the emergence and characteristics of what Vree has called inverse infrastructures - a category of user-driven, self-organizing infrastructures, primarily characterized by bottom-up development and decentralized control. They are `inverse' in respect to the large-scale centralized infrastructures dominant today. Drawing from ICT cases, it identifies, characterizes and examines the uniqueness of inverse infrastructures. It argues that inverse characteristics are not unique to the field of ICT; they are recognizable in other sectors as well. Moreover, despite similarities to the initial emergence of large-scale technical systems (LTSs) in past centuries, the ICT cases discussed have distinct inverse features. We conclude that the characteristics of inverse infrastructures and their novelty must be understood within the historical context of their recent emergence. Their significance for and potential impact on different infrastructure sectors is high. Therefore, the lack of policy awareness about models of infrastructure development other than the dominant LTS-based model is disconcerting.