Local government organisation in London and Mexico City: A comparative case-study of air quality management.

Nava-Escudero, Cesar (1998) Local government organisation in London and Mexico City: A comparative case-study of air quality management. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

In the last decade London and Mexico City have suffered from perceived poor air quality due to increased concentrations of road transport emissions. Current data on mortality rates show that in 1991 a wintertime pollution episode in London contributed to 100-180 premature deaths; similarly, it is said that high levels of pollution in Mexico City during 1990 contributed to an estimated total number of 6,400 excess deaths. In addition, the number of health studies on morbidity in these two cities shows that air pollution has produced adverse effects on the health and well-being of their inhabitants. Under London and Mexico City's air quality situation local authorities play a crucial role for addressing and tackling this urban environmental problem. This thesis examines air quality management and diverse models of local government organisation. By adopting a comparative approach, the analysis focuses on how diverse local government structures operate in relation to air pollution control from the perspective of local and central authorities and other key agencies. The purpose of this research is to combine analysis of the impact of political and institutional changes for air quality management looking at two local case-studies: London and Mexico City. The main objective is to contribute to the understanding of local government studies as well as of air quality policy research. Theoretically, the research outlines the debates on reorganising local government by focusing on three perspectives which offer diverse explanations to urban environmental problems: orthodox public administration model, public choice theory, and the local governance approach. The main argument considers the need for both an upper-tier area-wide coordinating authority and lower-tier politically fragmented government units at the local level for improving air quality and thus in both urban centres.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Political Science, Public Administration, Health Sciences, Public Health, Environmental Management
Sets:	Collections > ProQuest Etheses Departments > Geography and Environment
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/2868

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