Download or read book Financing Infrastructure written by Richard M. Bird and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2017-12-04 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Politicians and citizens universally agree that Canada’s urban infrastructure urgently needs work. Roads and bridges are overdue for repair, aging water systems should be replaced, sewage must be adequately treated, urban transit needs to be updated and extended, and it is necessary that public housing as well as schools, health centres, and government offices are brought up to current standards. But few cities have room to raise additional revenue, and the federal and provincial governments to which they turn for financial support are already in deficit, so who is going to pay for all of this? Bringing together perspectives and case studies from across Canada, the US, and Europe, Financing Infrastructure argues that the answer to the question “Who should pay?” should always be “users.” Headed by two of Canada’s foremost experts on municipal finance, this book provides a closer look at why charging user fees makes sense, how much users should pay, how to charge fees well and where present processes can be improved, and how to convince the politicians and the public of the importance of pricing infrastructure correctly. Across the disciplines of public policy, urban studies, and economics, almost no one is looking at the extent to which users should play a role in infrastructure planning. Financing Infrastructure contends that the users, not federal and provincial taxpayers, should start paying directly for their cities’ repairs and expansions. Contributors include Richard M. Bird (University of Toronto), Bernard Dafflon (University of Fribourg, Switzerland), Robert D. Ebel (Local Governance Innovation and Development), Harry Kitchen (Trent University), Jean-Philippe Meloche (Université de Montréal), Matti Siemiatycki (University of Toronto), Enid Slack (University of Toronto), Almos T. Tassonyi (University of Calgary), Lindsay M. Tedds (University of Victoria), François Vaillancourt (Université de Montréal), and Yameng Wang (World Bank).
Download or read book Urban Water Conflicts written by Bernard Barraque and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2011-12-02 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urban water conflicts manifested first in Europe in the 19th century and are observed nowadays in various forms throughout the world; in particular, in developing countries. Main causes of these conflicts are characterized by complex socioeconomic and institutional issues related to urban water management. The debate about public water services ver
Download or read book Public and Social Services in Europe written by Hellmut Wollmann and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents comparative analyses and accounts of the institutional changes that have occurred to the local level delivery of public utilities and personal social services in countries across Europe. Guided by a common conceptual frame and written by leading country experts, the book pursues a “developmental” approach to consider how the public/municipal sector-centred institutionalization of service delivery (climaxing in the 1970s) developed through its New Public Management-inspired and European Union market liberalization-driven restructuring of the 1980s and early 1990s. The book also discusses the most recent phase since the late 1990s, which has been marked by further marketization and privatization of service delivery on the one hand, and some return to public sector provision (“remunicipalization”) on the other. By comprising some 20 European countries, including Central East European “transformation” countries as well as the “sovereign debt”-stricken countries of Southern Europe, the chapters of this volume cover a much broader cross section of countries than other recent publications on the same subject.
Download or read book Social Policies and Private Sector Participation in Water Supply written by N. Prasad and published by Springer. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book demonstrates that, when reforming the water sector, policymakers should arrange social policies that mitigate the negative impact of reforms. It presents a detailed analysis of the current issues, and uses country studies to show how social policies are vital in ensuring affordable access to water supply.
Download or read book Municipal Services and Employees in the Modern City written by Michèle Dagenais and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Municipal Services and Employees in the Modern City considers the roles played by local institutions and particular processes that shaped the urban fabric. It rediscovers from models and maps the constituent dynamics of cities since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and demonstrates how patterns evolved in the way services and locations were organized; how urban transformation was underpinned by structural development, and how the municipal workforce became an integral part of the agencies of change. Municipal Services and Employees in the Modern City suggests that municipal experiences are central to the development of urban studies. Its focus of analysis ranges across Europe and the Americas from high-ranking bureaucrats to firefighters, engineers to accountants, and town clerks to public servants. Each essay provides detailed information on how change was formulated or resisted within the administrative apparatus, offering insight into a sector of the 'white-collar' class and the degree of commitment to public values often at times of social and political upheaval. They explore the course of relationships between local and central government, and the shifting bounds of municipal interventionism over a broad period; whilst incorporating a social history approach to interpret the day-to-day responsibilities and routine of administration.
Download or read book Globalized Water written by Graciela Schneier-Madanes and published by Springer Science & Business. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globalized Water presents a compilation of voices that forms a unique scientific exploration of contemporary water management models and governance issues. The book describes the water paradox—how a local resource has become a global product—and the implications of this in how we identify challenges and make policy in the water sector. Over the last 20 years, the foundations of local and national water systems have been rocked by a wave of changes. The authors in this book, experts in a wide range of disciplines, address the resulting debates and issues: water as a commodity and patrimony, technological rent, liberalization and privatization, the continuing evolution of water management and policy at the European level, decision making and stakeholder participation, conflict and consensus, and the inevitable growth of counterpowers at the local and international levels, promoted by the advocates of sustainable development. The selected case studies are from Europe (primarily France but also Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Portugal), Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia), the United States, Lebanon, and India. From this diverse collection of comparative perspectives and research methods, Globalized Water seeks to advance interdisciplinary research, contributing to a new and dynamic role for social sciences and governance on water.
Download or read book Public Banks Public Water written by Thomas Marois and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-02-28 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the potential for public banks to help finance the expansion, democratization, and sustainability of public water services in Europe, with implications for public water financing elsewhere in the world. Financing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 for water and sanitation will be enormously expensive and will also depend largely on public water operators. Where will this money to fund public water services come from? One option is public banks. These state-owned institutions constitute just under 20% of global banking assets, holding close to $50 trillion in assets. Many public banks have explicit mandates to finance public water management and related public goods, and they have been doing so for decades. And yet, despite a resurgence of interest in public banks, their roles and potential in funding public water services have been largely ignored by researchers and policy makers. This book aims to measure the scale and nature of interactions between public banks and public water operators in the European region; identify challenges and opportunities for deeper engagement between public banks and public water operators; recognize promising practices and how these might be transferred elsewhere in the world; and assess possibilities for more democratic forms of public bank and public water interactions. This volume will be of great use to students and researchers interested in political ecology and economy, development and cooperation, public policy as well as water governance and management. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Water International.
Download or read book Basic Services for All in an Urbanizing World written by United Cities and Local Governments and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-07-25 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: UCLG’s Third Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD III) examines basic service provision and the current state-of-play of the local governance of basic services around the world. Basic Services for All in an Urbanizing World examines the enormous challenge of ensuring the universal provision of basic services in a world that is being shaped by rapid global urbanization, climate change, and economic, social and technological transformation. The world’s urban population is predicted to reach 5 billion people within the next 20-30 years. The report analyses the conditions necessary for local governments to provide these new urban residents with quality basic services. Water, sanitation, waste management, transport and energy are essential, not only for the preservation of human life and dignity, but also in driving economic growth and ensuring social equality. Each chapter examines a world region, drawing on existing research and consultation with local authorities on the ground. The chapters review access levels, legal and institutional frameworks, and the different ways in which basic services are managed and financed, as well as showcasing diverse examples of innovation in the local and multi-level governance of services. It concludes with a set of recommendations for all stakeholders with a view to making the goal of basic services for all a reality. This report contributes to discussions on the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda. The findings of GOLD III will also be essential to promoting the vision of local governments at the 2016 UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat III).
Download or read book Encyclopedic Dictionary of Landscape and Urban Planning written by Klaus-Jürgen Evert and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-05-21 with total page 1548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique, multilingual, encyclopedic dictionary in two volumes covers terms regularly used in landscape and urban planning, as well as environmental protection. The languages are American and British English, Spanish (with many Latin-American equivalents), French, and German. The encyclopedia also provides various interpretations of the terms at the planning, legal or technical level, which make its meaning more precise and its usage clearer.
Download or read book Rethinking Corporatization and Public Services in the Global South written by David A. McDonald and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After three decades of privatization and anti-state rhetoric, government ownership and public management are back in vogue. This book explores this rapidly growing trend towards 'corporatization' - public enterprises owned and operated by the state, with varying degrees of autonomy. If sometimes driven by neoliberal agendas, there exist examples of corporatization that could herald a brighter future for equity-oriented public services. Drawing on original case studies from Asia, Africa and Latin America, this book critically examines the histories, structures, ideologies and social impacts of corporatization in the water and electricity sectors, interrogating the extent to which it can move beyond commercial goals to deliver progressive public services. The first collection of its kind, Rethinking Corporatization and Public Services in the Global South offers rich empirical insight and theoretical depth into what has become one of the most important public policy shifts for essential services in the global South.
Download or read book Water Resources Planning and Management written by R. Quentin Grafton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-02-17 with total page 801 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water is an increasingly critical issue at the forefront of global policy change, management and planning. There are growing concerns about water as a renewable resource, its availability for a wide range of users, aquatic ecosystem health, and global issues relating to climate change, water security, water trading and water ethics. This handbook provides the most comprehensive reference ever published on water resource issues. It brings together multiple disciplines to understand and help resolve problems of water quality and scarcity from a global perspective. Its case studies and 'foundation' chapters will be greatly valued by students, researchers and professionals involved in water resources, hydrology, governance and public policy, law, economics, geography and environmental studies.
Download or read book Public Private Partnerships for Urban Water Utilities written by Philippe Marin and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2009-09-22 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Public-Private Partnerships for Urban Water Utilities: A Review of Experiences in Developing Countries' analyzes the market growth of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the developing world since 1990, and the performance of more than 65 large water PPP projects representing more than 100 million people for access, service quality, operational efficiency, and tariff levels. Although a relatively small portion of the water utilities in the developing world are operated under PPPs (about 7 percent in 2007), the urban population served by private water operators has grown every year since 1990. Despite many difficulties encountered by PPP projects and a few contract terminations, a large majority of contracts awarded since 1990 are still in place. The track record for improving service and efficiency reaffirms the value of PPPs to help turn around poorly performing water utilities, even though the level of private financing did not match initial expectations. Over time, a more realistic market has developed, the number of private investors from developing countries has grown, and contract designs have become more pragmatic concerning risk allocations between partners. The water sector has many features that set it apart from other infrastructure sectors. This book suggests the need for careful consideration of those specificities to successfully involve private operators. Although concessions with private financing have worked in a few places, contractual arrangements that combine private operation with public financing appear to be the most sustainable option in many countries. Policy makers, stakeholders, and donors need to remain heavily engaged in the water sector, especially in the poorest countries and during a global financial crisis. This book contributes to a better understanding of the various options to tackle the many challenges of providing water and sanitation services to urban populations in the developing world.
Download or read book The Development of Public Works in France Under the Third Republic written by France. Ministère des travaux publics and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Common Ground written by Geneviève Massard-Guilbaud and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2010-10-12 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today’s environmental problems—climate change, loss of biodiversity, polluted air, land, and water—all have their origins to a greater or lesser extent in how we have lived, played and worked. At a time when societies are confronted with the often dramatic consequences of past choices made in the fields of energy, technology, industry, agriculture, urbanisation and consumption, we need a history that casts more light on the ways in which unsustainable human-nature relationships came into being. This means forging stronger connections between social and environmental history. Common Ground opens up a dialogue between two sub-disciplines that to date have remained largely parallel endeavours, bringing together both established and younger scholars from both fields to explore how people’s everyday lives have connected to their environments—and with what effects. The book is organised in six sections: leisure and environment; nature and conservation; environmental conflicts; folk and scientific knowledge; environmental disasters; and energy, industry and urban infrastructure. By exploring the complex interplay between people’s day-to-day activities and ecological change, especially the values, beliefs and environmental experiences of ordinary men and women, we can better understand our past relationships with nature and perhaps make more informed planning and policy choices in the future.
Download or read book Metropolitan Natures written by Stephane Castonguay and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2011-07-30 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the oldest metropolitan areas in North America, Montreal has evolved from a remote fur-trading post in New France into an international center for services and technology. A city and an island located at the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers, it is uniquely situated to serve as an international port while also providing rail access to the Canadian interior. The historic capital of the Province of Canada, once Canada's foremost metropolis, Montreal has a multifaceted cultural heritage drawn from European and North American influences. Thanks to its rich past, the city offers an ideal setting for the study of an evolving urban environment. Metropolitan Natures presents original histories of the diverse environments that constitute Montreal and it region. It explores the agricultural and industrial transformation of the metropolitan area, the interaction of city and hinterland, and the interplay of humans and nature. The fourteen chapters cover a wide range of issues, from landscape representations during the colonial era to urban encroachments on the Kahnawake Mohawk reservation on the south shore of the island, from the 1918-1920 Spanish flu epidemic and its ensuing human environmental modifications to the urban sprawl characteristic of North America during the postwar period. Situations that politicize the environment are discussed as well, including the economic and class dynamics of flood relief, highways built to facilitate recreational access for the middle class, power-generating facilities that invade pristine rural areas, and the elitist environmental hegemony of fox hunting. Additional chapters examine human attempts to control the urban environment through street planning, waterway construction, water supply, and sewerage.
Download or read book Le d veloppement des travaux publics en France sous la IIIe R publique written by France. Ministère des travaux publics and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
