What Sustainable Design Principles Could Teach Us About the Future of Policing in America
Start writing a post
Community

What Sustainable Design Principles Could Teach Us About the Future of Policing in America

Amidst massive civil unrest, activists are calling for an end to policing as we know it. What can we learn from communities around the world that have already implemented local solutions to local problems?

113
What Sustainable Design Principles Could Teach Us About the Future of Policing in America

In 1968, Garrett Hardin wrote what would become one of the most widely known yet fundamentally problematic works in economics: The Tragedy of the Commons. Hardin fatefully stated, "Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all."

The commons that Hardin refers to can also be described as common pool resources (CPRs), or shared resources with shared rules. CPRs lack private property rights and are open-access; today's CPRs range from public schools to clean air to dog parks. Even things like broadband internet access and Wikipedia can be classified as a virtual commons. In Hardin's mind, there were only two ways to prevent destruction and depletion of the commons: creating private property rights and/or instituting extensive governmental restrictions.

As it turns out, Hardin was wrong on several issues. (Later on in the paper, Hardin laments how public welfare has increased the probability that children of poor families will survive, relieving their parents of facing the consequences of their actions.) There are a plethora of examples of community based management strategies protecting CPRs around the globe that don't employ private property rights or governmental interference. One economist, Elenor Ostrom, made it her life's work to decode successful, community-based governing of the commons. In 2009, she was the first woman to receive a Nobel prize in Economics Sciences for her "groundbreaking research demonstrating that ordinary people are capable of creating rules and institutions that allow for the sustainable and equitable management of shared resources." Upon giving Ostrom her award, the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences declared, "Elinor Ostrom has challenged the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and should be either regulated by central authorities or privatized."

So, how did Ostrom so successfully challenge Hardin? She did this through decades of researching the evolution of institutions for collective action, on which she ended up writing her most influential book, Governing the Commons. Ostrom compiled a list of eight institutional design principles and demonstrated how they characterize long-lasting community based management practices. Based on case studies from around the globe, this list can be used as a framework to create community-based management strategies that are built to last. The list, which covers everything from who makes the rules to how they'll be enforced, is as follows:

  1. Group boundaries must be clearly defined.
  2. Costs and benefits must be matched to local needs and conditions.
  3. Individuals affected by rules must be able to take part in creating and modifying these rules.
  4. Monitors must be held accountable by the users or be stakeholders themselves.
  5. In the case that users violate rules, there must be a graduated system for sanctioning.
  6. Users and their officials must have rapid access to low cost, local means of conflict resolution.
  7. External governmental authorities must respect the community's right to self-governance.
  8. Responsibility for governing the common resource must be part of a tiered structure, ranging from the lowest level up to the entire, interconnected system.

Although Ostrom's design principles are based in case studies of community-based management of CPRs, this framework has the potential to extend beyond management of the commons as traditionally defined. In a piece about Ostrom's conquering of the so-called "tragedy of the commons", David Sloan Wilson, author and Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University, discusses the relevance of Ostrom's design principles:

Because of its theoretical generality, the core design principle approach is likely to apply to a much broader range of human groups than those attempting to manage CPRs. Almost any group whose members must work together to achieve a common goal is vulnerable to self-serving behaviors and should benefit from the same principles. An analysis of business groups, churches, voluntary associations and urban neighborhoods should yield the same results as [Ostrom's] analysis of CPR groups.

Moreover, there's actual evidence that Ostrom's design principles can be an effective framework to improve the quality of urban neighborhoods. In a 2013 article published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, David Sloan Wilson, Elenor Ostrom, and Michael E. Cox illustrate the success story of The West Side Community Collaborative in Buffalo, New York. Social trust, along with following the principles outlined by Ostrom, were key in reversing the "tragedy of the commons" faced by this neighborhood. Block clubs, which were recognized as legitimate by City Hall, were formed to resolve conflict and administer graduated sanctions. Although citizens didn't have the right to create new rules or building codes, they still played a role in enforcement as stakeholders.

Ostrom's principles may have a newfound relevanceIn the wake of the recent brutal police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks. In the midst of national civil unrest, activists across the country have been calling for massive defunding and abolition of police forces in favor of community-based management alternatives. If Ostrom's principles can be used to improve the quality of urban neighborhoods, could they also be used to reshape policing as we know it?

By looking to examples of successful community-based management (of which there are many), abolishing police forces as we know it and reinstating collective choice agreements might not be all that farfetched. Nomadic Gaddi shepherds in the Himalayas had robust social-trust and community-based agreements on grazing rights, alternating grazing locations throughout the year in return for free fertilization in the form of manure. In 1947, the Indian government interfered and violated Ostrom's seventh rule — external governmental authorities must respect the community's right to self-governance — which may have led to more concentrated grazing and resulting environmental degradation. Water temple irrigation systems in Bali struck a balance between water dispersal and pest control, flourishing for a millennia before Western engineers tried to modernize the water distribution. One aghast American engineer declared, "These people don't need a high priest, they need a hydrologist!" In short, they didn't; Ostrom's third rule reminds us that users who know the system most comprehensively, not foreign hydrologists, must be involved in creating the rules that will govern use of the commons. Even in the US, the lobster gangs of Maine patrol their fishing territories in a co-management system with the state, enforcing both formal and informal regulations. This is a clear, cut-and-dry example of Ostrom's fourth principle: stakeholders are users themselves and have an vested interest in maintaining the vitality of the lobster fisheries they patrol.

Without a doubt, community-based alternatives to policing as we know it will require a trial and error approach. However, politicians and community leaders aren't facing this challenge blind. Decades ago, Ostrom outlined a strong theoretical framework to help guide communities as they work to abolish institutions and create new ones that are equitable and just for all citizens. There is an abundance of economists, anthropologists, and even evolutionary biologists that are adequately prepared to help communities work through this next collective-action dilemma. The "freedom of the commons," as Harding described it, will send society hurtling not towards ruin, but instead towards justice, equity, and redemption.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

22529
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

949172
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

126064
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lots of people sat on the cinema wearing 3D glasses
Pinterest

Ever wonder what your friend meant when they started babbling about you taking their stapler? Or how whenever you ask your friend for a favor they respond with "As You Wish?" Are you looking for new and creative ways to insult your friends?

Well, look no further. Here is a list of 70 of the most quotable movies of all time. Here you will find answers to your questions along with a multitude of other things such as; new insults for your friends, interesting characters, fantastic story lines, and of course quotes to log into your mind for future use.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments