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Transforming Municipal Services to Transform Cities: Understanding the Role and Influence of the Private Sector

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  • Sara Hughes

    (Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S3G3, Canada)

  • Jacqueline Peterson

    (Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S3G3, Canada)

Abstract

Municipal services—such as water, energy, and waste management—play a significant role in shaping the sustainability of cities. In many places, these services are also fully or partially delivered by the private sector, but we are only beginning to understand the implications this has for the politics and administration of urban sustainability initiatives. In this paper, we use the case of organics waste recycling in the Twin Cities, Minnesota to identify and discuss three ways private sector engagement can shift the political and administrative landscapes of municipal service delivery: through the presence and form of accountability mechanisms, norms and conditions for entrepreneurship, and the feasibility and appropriateness of traditional policy tools for achieving urban sustainability transformations. The analysis highlights the need to better understand best practices available to local governments for pursuing urban sustainability in the context of privatization, the importance of public sector capacity, and the potential for corporate social responsibility in municipal service delivery.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Hughes & Jacqueline Peterson, 2018. "Transforming Municipal Services to Transform Cities: Understanding the Role and Influence of the Private Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:1:p:108-:d:125404
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Herrera, Veronica & Post, Alison E., 2014. "Can Developing Countries Both Decentralize and Depoliticize Urban Water Services? Evaluating the Legacy of the 1990s Reform Wave," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 621-641.
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    Cited by:

    1. Katarína Melichová & Lukáš Varecha, 2020. "Endogenous Political, Institutional, Cultural, and Geographic Determinants of Intermunicipal Cooperation—Evidence from Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-25, January.

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