International agencies and domestic governments are promoting "good" urban governance in municipal services like water and sanitation across developing cities based broadly on conceptions of transparency, accountability, efficiency, and citizen participation. Cities simultaneously are being urged to adopt market-oriented models for infrastructure and service provision, including those involving private sector participation and cost recovery. In India, 63 cities are currently signing up for major infrastructure loans, and in return, must undertake a host of such reforms. An essential element of urban governance reforms in India involves such strategies and technological innovations as e-governance, the design of performance indicators, and public budgetary disclosure -- the "technologies of good governance." Very little empirical research has probed the implications of these new governance strategies, many of which have been initiated by and are controlled by powerful citizen-led coalitions, for equitable and just development. This doctoral dissertation research project will explore the effects through four case studies of technologies of governance in Bangalore, one of India's most rapidly growing cities. The doctoral candidate will examine these effects along three dimensions: interest group representation, distribution of basic services, and urban citizenship. In-depth interviews with international lenders, municipal agencies, and civil society groups will uncover how such organizations conceptualize good governance and how they perceive their roles in improving the city's services. Spatial mapping of basic services like drinking water access in Bangalore will provide evidence for how equitably targeted urban governance strategies currently are. Participant observation in a cross-section of neighborhoods will provide insights into how far these efforts have penetrated as well as their effects on existing political and civic spaces. Project findings are expected to.
This project acknowledges that there are high stakes associated with claims of "good" governance, a concept that has become commonplace as a policy prescription in the developing world. Nowhere are these stakes greater than in contemporary globalizing metropolises. While development funding historically has been tied to structural adjustment, urban infrastructure loans now are conditional on civil society participation, public accountability, managerial efficiency, and other attractive discourses of governance. This project will assess whether the proposed urban reforms and associated strategies in Bangalore are actually benefiting those most in need of basic municipal services like water, sanitation, drainage, roads, and street lighting. Given the recent launch of a national urban renewal mission emphasizing the use of technologies of governance and market-oriented reform in India, this research is particularly timely and has the potential to encourage other cities in India and other nations to exercise caution while embracing sanctioned approaches to urban governance reform. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.
