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Good Water Governance without Good Urban Governance? Regulation, Service Delivery Models, and Local Government

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  • Kathryn Furlong

    (Département de géographie, Université de Montréal 520, chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montreal, QB H2V 2B8, Canada)

Abstract

‘State failure’ came to prominence in the 1980s to explain a range of challenges facing water supplies. Given the apparent problem, water supply was said to require organizational reform which would reduce government involvement in and influence over service delivery. Service providers, it was argued, should be independent from government. Among the associated reforms privatization has drawn the most attention, but alternative service delivery (ASD) has also proven important. Concomitantly, the regulatory role of senior governments was initially ‘rolled back’. Since that time, regulatory oversight at higher scales has been reasserted in many cases, yet the perceived need to circumscribe the role of municipal governments through organizational reforms like ASD persists. Using a case study of water sector reform in Ontario, Canada, I argue that such views conflate organizations with governance, thus ignoring underlying municipal issues affecting water supply. This, in turn, can limit the effectiveness of regulatory improvements at higher scales. Given the increased focus on institutions to resolve water-supply challenges, these findings have implications for other contexts. In Canada a municipality is a local government whose powers and responsibilities are defined by the provinces under their respective municipal acts. While these powers are typically limited compared with other jurisdictions, in keeping with trends elsewhere municipal responsibilities have been increasing.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn Furlong, 2012. "Good Water Governance without Good Urban Governance? Regulation, Service Delivery Models, and Local Government," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(11), pages 2721-2741, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:44:y:2012:i:11:p:2721-2741
    DOI: 10.1068/a44616
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Naoki FUJIWARA, 2019. "International City Network and Public-Private Cooperation Japanese Public Water Services’ Overseas Expansion," CIRIEC Working Papers 1909, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
    2. Naoki Fujiwara, 2019. "International City Network and Public-Private Cooperation for Urban Water-Environment Management: A Study of Japanese Public Water Services’ Overseas Expansion," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 18(2), pages 19-29, December.
    3. D'Amore, Gabriella & Landriani, Loris & Lepore, Luigi, 2021. "Ownership and sustainability of Italian water utilities: The stakeholder role," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Naoki Fujiwara, 2022. "Public–Private Partnerships and Their Limitations in Sustainable Public Sewerage Industry: A Comparative Analysis of Three Municipal Cases in Japan," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 24(2), pages 46-57, December.
    5. Marie, Tsanga Tabi, 2016. "Public values as essential criteria for public entrepreneurship: Water management in France," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 162-169.

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