Academia in the time of Covid-19: Our chance to develop an ethics of care
by Esteve Corbera, Isabelle Anguelovski, Jordi Honey-Rosés and Isabel Ruiz-Mallén
The political climate for stronger action on water metering policies in Metro Vancouver: A survey of elected council members and mayors
(September 2019) A survey of city council members and mayors in Metro Vancouver reveals that support for stronger action on water metering policies is high among city leadership (Full Report). Water meters – a simple gadget that measures how much water you use in your home – are common in most cities in North […]
Percent Change as a Measure of Price Escalation in Water and Energy Utilities
We advance the idea of using percent billing changes as a simple measure of price escalation. This simple yet underused metric may help evaluate rate structure design in public utilities. We illustrate how price escalation may generate useful insight for utility managers by analyzing rate structures from water utilities in British Columbia, Canada. We observe […]
Metrics and Methods for Comparing Water Utility Rate Structures
Utility managers must design rate structures that meet multiple objectives: full cost recovery, fairness, economic efficiency, and resource conservation. To reach these multiple goals, the design of an optimal rate structure would ideally include detailed information on cost of service, demand elasticity, and preferences of the customer base within each utility. However this information is […]
What Participation? DistinguishingWater Monitoring Programs in Mining Regions Based on Community Participation
Water issues are a major concern for the mining sector and for communities living near mining operations. The emergence of Participatory Water Monitoring (PWM) programs in mining regions reflects a shift toward greater stakeholder collaboration and more inclusive water governance. This article proposes a new framework to evaluate community involvement in PWM programs across Latin […]
Field Experiments and Public Engagement
Public participation and public consultation are generally viewed as desirable approaches to democratize decision-making. But who participates in public consultation events and what motivates individuals to attend? How do we know if the public consultation has been a success? This research program aims to measure the impact of public participation processes through the use of […]
Urban River Restoration and Planning in Latin America
Urban rivers are opportunities for innovative urban planning, ecological restoration and the creation of valuable public space. Globally, there is interest in restoring urban rivers to meet environmental and public goals. We systematically search the academic and grey literatures in both English and Spanish to identify cases, trends, and examples of successful urban river restoration […]
Methods and metrics to compare water rates
Water utility managers must devise water rate structures that meet multiple objectives: economic efficiency, full cost recovery, fairness, and water conservation. Thus, the design of an optimal rate structure requires detailed information on the cost, demand elasticity, and preferences of the customer base within each utility. When full information is not available, some insight may […]
Drought Preparedness in BC: Workshop Summary
The Water Planning Lab has compiled the ideas that emerged from the workshop in a short summary report.
BC Municipal Water Survey 2016
The BC Municipal Water Survey 2016 presents an overview of local water use, pricing, and metering coverage in the province of British Columbia.