文章基本信息

标题：Equity in Urban water Governance through Participatory, Place-Based Approaches
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作者：Kelli L. Larson ; Denise Lach
期刊名称：Natural Resources Journal
印刷版ISSN：0028-0739
出版年度：2010
卷号：50
期号：2
页码：407-430
语种：English
出版社：University of New Mexico, School of Law
摘要：While multiple reasons exist for involving citizens in local water governance, decentralization of decisions is generally thought to re sult in both effective and equitable governance regimes. To assess these claims, we examined the ability of a watershed council in met ropolitan Portland, Oregon, to engage a wide variety of residents in environmental protection and decision-making. Through a survey and interviews, we found that participants in the case study water shed council over-represented urban residents in downstream Port land, as well as those who live near water in flood-prone areas. The council also over-represented newcomers to Oregon and residents with relatively high educational levels, in addition to classic pro-en vironmental (biocentric) worldviews and liberal political interests. Overall, watershed council participants appear to bring a bureau cratic capacity and liberal ideology to the council that does not reflect the full array of residents in the watershed. Therefore, rather than fostering widespread engagement among diverse stakeholders, the council reproduces the existing power structures in the community by providing another opportunity for citizens with access to profes sional and political venues to participate in local water resource gov ernance. Residents with less human capital and with “politically incorrect” perspectives are, thus, less likely to be actively engaged in watershed planning and other projects, removing their voices, volun tary actions, and, for the most part, their geographic locales from decentralized, community-based governance. The lack of socio-spatial equity in participation has implications not only for democratic deci sion-making; it also hinders the effectiveness of community-based ef forts aimed at voluntary watershed-wide restoration and enhancement.