Boosting E-Participation

In this chapter, the authors show two case studies of the use of social media in municipal governments: Lerma, a small municipality with a significant growth, and Metepec, an important municipality of the State of México. The purpose of this chapter is to provide empirical evidence of how social media improves government to citizen relationship and promotes e-participation in municipal governments. The results are based on semi-structured interviews applied to public servants and a survey to evaluate e-government services by citizens. So, the citizen perception is contrasted with public servants' interviews. Citizens consider that electronic procedures and services implemented by their municipalities do not generate value. The efforts of governments should focus on avoiding corruption, making governments transparent, opening data, and properly managing the privacy of information.

Potential reduction in drinking water consumption at the headquarters of the Regional Electoral Court of Pernambuco - TRE/PE

Water conservation in buildings includes not only reducing the demand for potable water, but also adopting alternative sources for activities with less noble purposes. Public buildings under the jurisdiction of the Federal, State, and Municipal governments are required to promote actions aimed at the rational use and conservation of water, according to the responsibility established in the Environmental Agenda in Public Administration.In light of the above, this study aims to analyze the potential for reducing drinking water consumption at the headquarters building of the Electoral Regional Court of Pernambuco - TRE/PE through the use of alternative water sources, such as rainwater and condensed water from air conditioners. The methodology began with the characterization of the study site and the consumption of potable water.Subsequently, the technical and economic feasibility of rainwater and condensate water use was investigated, as well as a comparison between the proposed measures. The results obtained indicate that the techniques studied are beneficial, presenting significant potential for reducing the consumption of potable water that would be used for toilet flushing, 63% for rainwater use and 62% for condensate water.In addition, they can also provide annual financial savings of R$8,216.01 and R$8,045.74, respectively. Thus, besides reducing drinking water consumption, the proposed measures also promote the minimization of financial costs, whose capital can be used in the search for continuous improvement of services provided to society.

Leaping over the Dragon's Gate: The “Air Silk Road” between Henan Province and Luxembourg

This article traces the process behind the implementation of the “Air Silk Road,” a cargo flight connection between Luxembourg and Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province. Its origins lie in economic competition between Henan and its neighbouring provinces, dating back a decade before the official announcement of the Air Silk Road in 2017. Provincial and municipal governments in Henan displayed opportunistic risk-taking behaviour in persistently pushing for the development of Zhengzhou's airport economy, but only timing and coincidence allowed the province to gain a foothold in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With findings drawn from fieldwork in China between 2019 and 2020, we contribute to an understanding of the implementation of the BRI, the underlying rationale and the challenges inland provinces face in integrating into the world economy.

THE LEGITIMACY OF PREPARING A FINANCIAL IMPACT FORECAST OF ADOPTING LOCAL SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN IN POLAND

Since 2003 in Poland, it has been obligatory to prepare forecasts of the financial impact of adopting local spatial development plans. Whether or not the forecasts are put to actual use and what their content and presentation form should feature, in addition to what role should the forecast play and who should be able to make use of it? This study presents the results of a series of interviews and a survey performed among a group of municipal officials. Legal documents and the literature were analysed as well. Studies have shown that financial impact forecasts are used by municipal governments only to a limited degree. Many have expressed doubts as to the feasibility of preparing and using these forecasts. Specifically, most municipal governments do not make use of these forecasts and they are prepared only because it is their legal obligation to include them as a document added to the local spatial development plan. Due to the significance of the impact of the financial implications of adopting a local spatial development plan on a municipality's budget, it is necessary to change the approach to preparing and presenting financial forecasts.

Local Opt-Out Provisions in a State Gambling Expansion: An Analysis of Pennsylvania Municipalities

A 2017 gambling expansion bill in Pennsylvania included a provision that gave municipalities the option to ban a new casino from opening within their borders. This paper examined how different factors influenced local decisions on whether to allow casino gambling. Multilevel linear probability models indicated that municipalities were influenced by economic characteristics, as evidenced by a higher likelihood of allowing casinos in communities with lower levels of household income. Results also suggested that municipalities were influenced by variables related to tax competition and the percentage of residents who were black. The findings of this study identify factors that may influence municipal governments when given the authority to opt out of a state gambling expansion capable of generating a new source of local tax revenue.

Planning to maintain the status quo? A comparative study of digital equity plans of four large US cities

The term digital equity is at the forefront of municipal government planning to mitigate digital equity. Digital equity signifies a desired future to be achieved, yet its meaning is not well-established. As such, planning for digital equity offers an opportunity for new discursive construction. This study examines how municipal governments have constructed the concept of digital equity through textual evidence, the digital equity plans of Kansas City, MO, Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA, and Seattle, WA. Adopting an approach from critical discourse studies, comparative analysis of the texts demonstrates how digital equity plans conceive of digital equity, characterize current problematic circumstances, and prescribe actions to make change. The plans have strikingly little to say about why digital inequality has emerged, yet they prescribe actions that indicate a more complex understanding of the problem than they articulate. The dynamics of policy diffusion suggest that the work of early adopters will influence other municipalities to create similar plans. Thus, the current moment is ripe for scholars to influence municipal planning for digital equity and participate in its discursive construction in both academic research and policymaking circles.

Support of the Implementation of a Whistleblowing System for Smoke-Free Environments: A Mixed Methods Approach

Enforcement of a smoke-free policy is of vital concern in support of the health of smokers and bystanders. Indonesia has issued a smoke-free law, but implementation and enforcement lie with the regional and municipal governments. In a survey of 225 respondents recruited via schools, knowledge about the health effects of smoking and the smoke-free regulation, as well as attitudes towards and commitment and support of the enforcement of the smoke-free regulation in the Kendari City through an electronic whistleblowing system was examined. Furthermore, the participants were asked about the smoking status and smoking behavior. About half of the respondents were students (teenagers), the other half—their parents. Male respondents were strongly overrepresented (85%). Only 18% of the respondents declared to be smokers, mostly adults and males. Both the smokers and the non-smokers supported the smoke-free law and its enforcement through a whistleblowing system. Representatives of the local government were interviewed and participated in focus group discussions. In general, they also exhibited strong support of an electronic enforcement tool. However, issues of efficiency, costs, and responsibility must still be resolved. Nevertheless, an electronic whistleblowing system has the potential to further the health and livelihoods in a community like the Kendari City.

Changing Attitudes to Housing and Residential Location in Cities: The Cultural Clash and the Greyfield Solution

This chapter explores changes in attitudes and preferences—in other words, the underlying demand—for different types and locations of housing in Australia’s largest cities. Until recently, housing preferences have strongly favoured detached housing and low-density urban settings. This is now changing. This section reports on data from a major household survey that examined the attitudes of resident property owners in the middle suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne to neighbourhood change and medium-density housing development. It examines household preferences and trade-offs related to different ‘living arrangements’ (dwelling and location combinations) and attitudes to lot amalgamation and bottom-up redevelopment between neighbours. The survey identified clear shifts in ‘living arrangement’ priorities in the major capital cities that now reveal equivalent preferences for medium-density housing in established areas with good public transport versus detached housing in car-dependent suburbs.It highlights the lag in supply-side response by the property-development and building industries, as well as the missed steps by metropolitan and municipal governments in strategic planning and rezoning of established suburban greyfield precincts to accommodate medium-density housing at scale: in essence, GPR.

Policy Forum: Establishing an Urban Reserve—Property Tax Challenges and Opportunities

Urban reserves offer a unique economic development tool for First Nation governments by providing access to markets and infrastructure unavailable on most reserve lands in Canada. Asimakiniseekan Askiy is Canada's first urban reserve established on land previously owned by a city. The urban reserve was established in Saskatoon by the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in 1988. Asimakiniseekan Askiy provides an example of the economic potential of urban reserves for First Nations and their members, as well as municipal governments and their citizens. The urban reserve is currently home to 60 First Nation and non-First Nation businesses and their 700 employees. In 2020, the urban reserve contributed $465,662 to the city of Saskatoon in service fee payments. However, before this economic potential could be realized, property taxation presented a sizable barrier in the path of taking Asimakiniseekan Askiy from an innovative idea to a successful reality. Establishing an urban reserve has significant property tax implications, since the process requires the transfer of property from the taxing authority of a municipal jurisdiction to the tax jurisdiction of a First Nation government. Agreements providing for the transfer of tax authority also include negotiations relating to the continued provision of services to the urban reserve by the municipality. This article first provides a summary of the statutory environment surrounding the formation and taxation of an urban reserve. A case study of the establishment and 33 years of operation of Asimakiniseekan Askiy is then provided, to illustrate the property tax implications and municipal service agreement process necessary for Canadian communities to achieve the economic benefits of urban reserves. The authors identify property tax challenges inherent in the establishment of an urban reserve and offer recommendations to improve access to urban reserves as an innovative economic development tool.