Latin America & the Caribbean - Urban Services Delivery and the Poor : The Case of Three Central American Cities (Vol. 1 of 2) : Service Delivery and Poverty

The present study describes, and quantifies the provision of basic urban services to the poor, in three Central American cities in El Salvador, Honduras, and, Panama. It also identifies priority areas for government intervention, using specialized household surveys to quantify current deficits, and to rank households from poor to rich, using aggregate consumption as the measure of welfare. The urban poverty profile is examined in each city, through migration, growth, and mobility patterns, including education and labor characteristics. In terms of land and housing, in all three cities, almost half of the poor who reported being property owners have weak, or no documentation over their properties, and, considerable portions of the poor population, are not connected to the public aqueduct, while few if any, receive help from the government. High dependency on public transportation was reported, e.g., one hundred percent in El Salvador, ninety seven percent in Tegucigalpa. Institutional, and policy issues explain the current situation: in terms of decentralization, municipalities have limited functions vis-a-vis the delivery of basic services; as for the housing sector, there is a vast gap between housing provision, and housing finance; and, particularly for water, and sanitation, the institutional framework for the delivery of basic services, is characterized by great uncertainty. Strikingly, public transportation is entirely provided by the private sector, but the lack of regulation, causes problems reflected in an overall low quality of service.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	World Bank
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2002-06-03
Subjects:	ACCESS TO SERVICES, ASSETS, BASIC SERVICES, BUILDING PERMIT, BUILDING PERMITS, CAPITAL CITIES, CAPITALS, CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TRANSFERS, CITIES, CITIES ALLIANCE, CITIES ALLIANCE PROGRAM, CITY DEVELOPMENT, CITY INFRASTRUCTURE, CITY LIVABILITY, CITY MANAGEMENT, CITY PLANNERS, CITY PLANNING, CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT, COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, COMPREHENSIVE URBAN UPGRADING, COST OF HOUSING, COST OF LIVING, DECENTRALIZATION, DEFICITS, DRAINAGE SYSTEMS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, GARBAGE COLLECTION, HOSPITALS, HOUSEHOLDS, HOUSES, HOUSING, HOUSING AGENCIES, HOUSING FINANCE, HOUSING FINANCING, HOUSING POLICY, HOUSING PROGRAMS, HOUSING PROVISION, HOUSING SUBSIDIES, INFORMAL LAND, INTERVENTION, LAND SUPPLY, LAND TITLING, LAND USE, LARGE CITIES, LAWS, LIBRARIES, MASS TRANSIT, MAYORS, MUNICIPALITIES, NEIGHBORHOOD, NEIGHBORHOODS, OCCUPANCY, POOR NEIGHBORHOODS, PRIVATIZATION, PUBLIC TRANSPORT, RURAL AREAS, SAFETY, SCHOOLS, SERVICE COVERAGE, SERVICE DELIVERY, SERVICE PROVISION, SETTLEMENTS, SHELTER, SOCIAL EXCLUSION, SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE, SOCIAL POLICY, SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM, SOCIAL TENSION, SOLID WASTE, SOLID WASTE COLLECTION, STREET LIGHTING, SUBURBAN AREAS, SUBURBS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TOWNS, TRAFFIC, TRANSPORT, URBAN AREAS, URBAN DEVELOPMENT, URBAN DWELLERS, URBAN GROWTH, URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE, URBAN LIFE, URBAN MIGRATION, URBAN POOR, URBAN POPULATION, URBAN POPULATIONS, URBAN POVERTY, URBAN SANITATION, URBAN SERVICES, URBAN UPGRADING, URBANIZATION, URBANIZATION PROCESS, UTILITY COMPANIES URBAN SERVICES; SERVICE DELIVERY; POVERTY INCIDENCE; TARGETED ASSISTANCE; HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS; AGGREGATE VARIABILITY; WELFARE ECONOMICS; URBAN POVERTY; WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION; SOCIAL INEQUALITY; MIGRATION STATISTICS; POPULATION INCREASE; SOCIAL INDICATORS; LAND OWNERSHIP; PROPERTY RIGHTS; OWNERSHIP; PUBLIC TRANSPORT; INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK; POLICY FRAMEWORK; DECENTRALIZATION IN GOVERNMENT; MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT; HOUSING AFFORDABILITY; HOUSING FINANCE; PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION; INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY; LAND TITLES; LOW COST HOUSING; PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION; SECTORAL REFORMS; WATER TARIFFS; SUBSIDIES,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/06/1944177/latin-america-caribbean-urban-services-delivery-poor-case-three-central-american-cities-vol-1-2-service-delivery-poverty http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15402
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