EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Box 1. Main local government responsibilities across the world
Services: water distribution, waste water and solid waste collection, public transport, street lights, cleaning of streets, markets and public places, public toilets, pollution control, public/environmental health, some aspects of child care and schooling, libraries and cultural activities, some forms of social welfare provision (usually shared with higher authorities), fire services and disaster response (usually shared with higher authorities), registration of births and deaths, monitoring for infectious diseases, cemeteries, and, in many countries, health, education, housing and policing. Infrastructure: water piped distribution, sanitation, storm and surface drainage, local roads, paths and bridges, solid waste disposal facilities, waste water treatment, bus terminals, parks/squares/sports facilities/public spaces. Buildings: building regulation, maintenance of public buildings, regulations for rental accommodation. Urban planning: land-use management and the application of land-use regulations, plans for the expansion of infrastructure. Other: local economic development, tourism. Because citizens’ needs are diverse and evolving, flexibility has been allowed for this core group of services to be modified according to the unique context of each region. The Asia Pacific chapter makes reference to slum upgrading and risk prevention; the Eurasia chapter covers heating; the North America chapter covers broadband services, as does the chapter on Europe, which also explores child and elder care services. The Latin America chapter includes a discussion of urban security and the increasing role of local governments in building safer cities. Furthermore, while the report is based in an analysis of these basic service sectors, its aim is to contribute to a holistic vision of basic local service provision. After all, local governments are often confronted by political, social, economic and environmental challenges
that cannot be adequately tackled by isolated, single sector interventions. There are significant differences in the extent to which the responsibilities for providing basic services are allocated between levels of government, as well as in the actual roles that local governments play on the ground, whether as service funders, managers, providers or supervisors, whatever their official responsibilities. In some countries, local governments are still considered organs of the central state, meaning they work under the direction of central governments, in some cases without any legally recognized independent authority. In most instances, however, local authorities play at least some role in these services, whether in urban infrastructure planning, land use management, revenue raising, service pro-