Municipal Service Distribution: Equity Concerns

Abstract

Past experience has provided evidence that a number of municipal services have been inequitably distributed. Causes of these inequities have included the socioeconomic status of the neighborhood, its ecological structure and the bureaucratic decision‐rules used by municipal engineers in providing services. An important task for municipal engineers involves the identification of varying neighborhood needs such that services can be allocated equitably. A methodology has been devised to aid municipal engineers in identifying inequities. This approach involves comparing the socioeconomic status and ecological structure of various areas within a municipality to the existing pattern of service delivery. This approach is tested through the examination of a Canadian government program designed to ameliorate conditions in deteriorated neighborhoods as it was applied in five maritime municipalities.