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subnational and local governments have been confronted with public order situations of such complexity that they have even affected their ability to govern. Local governments can play a central role in providing safe neighborhoods, schools and in regenerating public spaces, as long as they can rely on the systematic support of other levels of government to build effective hor足 izontal relationships between citizens and the police. Community organizations themselves have become active participants in warning, reporting and information provision to prevent insecurity and delinquency. Conclusions and recommendations A review of the responsibilities of local governments and sub-national entities in providing basic local services in Latin America shows great diversity across the region. Some powerful municipalities in large and intermediary cities play a leading role in basic services. Their growing technical capacity and resources have enabled them to improve services through municipal utilities or collaboration with the private sector and the community. However, most municipalities in the region are not equipped with the financial resources and management skills of large metropolises. Services in these municipalities generally have lower quality and access indicators. Rural municipalities face even greater challenges in meeting the needs of smaller, dispersed populations. The decentralization of the provision of services requires strong incentives, driven by central governments. Despite these difficulties and challenges, local governments in the region have been important, if not decisive, players in improving the coverage of basic services, either directly or in partnership with other levels of government, the private sector or communities. However, at present,
the percentage of local governments that implement strategic planning for all basic serv足 ice sectors is still limited. Comprehensive sectoral management plans are necessary to improve access and quality. These plans must be coordinated with urban strategic development and/or territorial development plans, to encourage coordination between the different institutions and stakeholders and, above all, to set more ambitious long term goals. The deficiency in planning contributes to the persistence, despite some improvements, of unequal access to basic services. Social and spatial fragmentation in the cities of the region has a direct impact on the governance of the services. Due to levels of poverty, universal access to services can only be achieved through appropriate social policies that include the granting of large subsidies, the architecture of which needs to be revised to improve its equitability in many countries. Moreover, local authorities are faced with increasing urban sprawl (urban peripheries will grow by 90 million people over the next decade), the backlog in infrastructure provision to slums and the deterioration of historic urban centers. The growing impact of climate change is also posing new challenges to the sector. Cities that are supplied by mountain sources of drinking water (La Paz, Arequipa, Quito and Bogota) have recorded significant drops in their glacial water supplies, requiring them to look for new water sources and to establish alternative seasonal storage systems and divert river flows. There is also a need to reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure to increasingly extreme weather phenomena (floods and droughts resulting from El Ni単o or La Ni単a) and the impact of natural disasters (particularly Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and the Andes). These