Assessing Urban Governance

This book explores the complex and uncertain domain of urban governance assessments, by amending the UN-Habitat Urban Governance Index and applying it to water service co-production strategies between public institutions and organised groups of citizens in Venezuela.

When examining the relationship between urban governance and improved service provision in the Global South, there is frequently a gap between the rhetoric and the reality. Informal, practice-based local governance processes that aim to produce better urban services often diverge from official governance prescriptions and mechanisms for service delivery within the institutional sphere. This book explores the complex area of urban governance assessment, focusing on the issue of sustainable water supplies for the urban poor. Adapting the UN-Habitat Urban Governance Index, the author explores the dual nature of urban governance, analyzing its formal dimension at the municipal level but also taking account of informal and locally specific governance arrangements aimed at improving access to basic services. Water service co-production strategies involving both public institutions and organized groups of citizens in Venezuela provide an excellent case study of this phenomenon. The book illustrates the limitations of official governance assessment tools in appreciating the extent and vibrancy of local practices and agreements, as well as investigating the discrepancies between normative prescriptions and governance arrangements on the ground.

Autorentext

Luisa Moretto is Lecturer and Researcher at the Faculty of Architecture of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), and Director of the research centre HABITER. She has a background in architecture and holds a PhD in Analysis and Governance of Sustainable Development from the Universities IUAV and Ca' Foscari in Venice (Italy). She is currently a coordinator of N-Aerus (Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanization in the South).

Inhalt

Contents: Introduction - Urban Governance and Water Supply Systems - Assessing Urban Governance: A Principle Perspective - Co-producing Water Services in Venezuela - Applying the Urban Governance Index to Institutionalised Water Service Co-production - Assessing Urban Governance for Water Services at the Municipal Level - Low-income Communities' Involvement in Local Governance for Improved Water Provisions - Conclusions.