# Resource Allocation **Domain:** Economics / Governance / Infrastructure **Doc Type:** Canonical Mechanism Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Resource allocation** is the process by which finite money, energy, land, materials, labor, time, information and institutional attention are distributed among competing uses and claimants. Allocation may occur through markets, public budgets, professional judgment, democratic deliberation, community governance, emergency command or computational systems. Every mechanism embodies an objective and a theory of legitimate claims. ## Planetary Governance Context Within [[wiki/Planetary Administrative Intelligence|Planetary Administrative Intelligence]], allocation is the point where perception becomes material consequence. A model does not merely describe a neighborhood when its output changes insurance, infrastructure, healthcare, credit or disaster response. [[articles/Climate Systems as Human Resilience Platforms|Climate Systems as Human Resilience Platforms]] places allocation between modeling and feedback. [[articles/Climate Meritocracy|How Reparative Justice Became Meritocracy]] shows public observations becoming private allocation signals. ## Justice Boundary Efficiency, equity, need, historical responsibility, contribution and minimum rights are distinct allocation principles. A legitimate system must state which principle governs each domain, preserve non-negotiable floors and allow [[wiki/Model Contestability|Model Contestability]]. [[wiki/Score Separability|Score Separability]] prevents one allocation judgment from becoming a total judgment about a person's entitlement to social existence. ## Key Insight **Allocation is where an objective function becomes lived reality.** ## See Also [[wiki/Resource Allocation Systems|Resource Allocation Systems]], [[wiki/Resource Optimization|Resource Optimization]], [[wiki/Equitable Resource Allocation|Equitable Resource Allocation]], [[wiki/Planetary Resource Management|Planetary Resource Management]], [[wiki/Objective Function|Objective Function]]