Mapping solid waste governance modes in a Mexican municipality

What is it about?

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) governance is a social process in which people or organizations (governmental or non-governmental stakeholders) make agreements (formal or informal institutions) about MSW. This process can occur under different contexts, for example, at local, municipal, state or federal scales. The possible interactions between the different types of stakeholders and institutions generate governance structures specific to a social context and historical process (hierarchical structure, markets, networks or hybrids). The identification of these governance structures, through the identification of stakeholders and institutions, allows us to understand internal logics and, therefore, points of improvement in governance. In this research we identify these structures in a Mexican municipality, with the help of maps, in order to present spatially explicit MSW governance information. We succeeded in mapping the hierarchical and market mode at the local and municipal level, and the way in which they interact.

Featured Image

Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash

Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our research is a first effort to analyze the modes of municipal solid waste (MSW) governance and offers a spatially explicit classification to reveal the spatial differences in how MSW is governed. Characterizing governance modes through spatially explicit thematic maps reveals the interactions between stakeholders and formal and informal institutions, which could contribute to territorial planning toward more effective MSW governance.

Perspectives