Abstract
The article contributes to the debate on the sustainable provision of water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in Global South cities by developing a comprehensive understanding of the concept of sustainability when applied to the analysis of WSS co-production in these contexts. The study moves from the hypothesis that an integrated conceptualization of WSS co-production requires a re-discussion of evaluation approaches to questioning the sustainability of these unorthodox forms of service delivery. To this end, the study explores key dimensions of service sustainability through a complementary reading of the processes and the outcomes of WSS co-production practices on the basis of three theoretical perspectives: a governance-institutional, a socio/political-ecological and an incremental-urban. The objective is to frame a series of principles and criteria relevant for assessing the sustainability of WSS service co-production in Global South cities. The analysis is based on a systematic review of cross-cutting literatures on service co-production in the Global South, sustainable urban water management and urban studies. The review is integrated with empirical insights from four city-case studies of WSS co-production in the Global South, namely Hanoi (Vietnam), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Cochabamba (Bolivia) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania).
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Faldi, G., Rosati, F.N., Moretto, L., Teller, J. (2021). A Multi-perspective Discourse on the Sustainability of Water and Sanitation Service Co-production in Global South Cities. In: Martinez, J., Mikkelsen, C.A., Phillips, R. (eds) Handbook of Quality of Life and Sustainability. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50540-0_4
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