Assessing Inter-Administrative Cooperation in Urban Public Services: A Case Study of River Municipalities in the Internal Border Area between Aragon and Catalonia (Spain)

Abstract

The proper management of urban public services (UPS) ensures that a territory functions efficiently, since it guarantees optimal waste disposal, water supply, and the maintenance of communication infrastructure, among other things. In areas of high urban density located close to metropolitan cities, UPS are usually provided properly and efficiently. However, in less populated territories, lying in the periphery, significant problems and deficiencies are often encountered, being most evident in rural areas located on the administrative limits of a state or region. This paper seeks to analyze the management of UPS in the internal border area between two Spanish regions, Aragon and Catalonia. A total of 72 stakeholders (mayors and town clerks) from 49 river municipalities were involved in this study that employs a quantitative methodology (questionnaire). The perception that there are deficiencies to correct and a clear will to reach agreements and establish cooperation mechanisms is detected in many of the municipalities in the border area. A clear need to cooperate is also apparent in a series of priority UPS, including the promotion of river tourism, town access roads, urban collective passenger transport, and environmental protection.

Spanish geography at contemporary times. State of the question (1972-2022)

“…Valencian Community and those between Catalonia and Aragon. The project culminated in the publication of a study, jointly edited by Tort and Galindo (2018), which has been the source for subsequent works published both in journals and as book chapters Tort, 2019, 2020;Galindo, 2020;Santasusagna, Galindo and Tort, 2020). The group's most recent publications have stressed the importance of inter-AC boundaries in the management of the Covid-19 crisis, including a comparative case study of the situation on the French-Spanish border (Galindo, 2021;Galindo, Tort and Santasugsana, 2022).…”

La geografía española actual. Estado de la cuestión

“…Entre 2015 y 2018 Joan Tort dirigió un proyecto titulado La articulación geográficaadministrativa del hecho fronterizo: derecho, territorio y política en la construcción del municipio de frontera, que se focalizaba en los municipios limítrofes, por un lado, entre Catalunya y la Comunitat Valenciana y, por el otro, entre Catalunya y Aragón. El proyecto culminó con el volumen dirigido por Tort y Galindo (2018), del cual se han derivado ya trabajos posteriores publicados en revistas científicas y capítulos de libro (Galindo, Santasusagna y Tort, 2019Galindo, 2020;Santasusagna, Galindo y Tort, 2020). Las últimas publicaciones han incidido, a su vez, en la importancia de los límites interautonómicos en la gestión de la crisis de la Covid-19, incluyendo el caso comparado de la frontera franco-española (Galindo, 2021;Galindo, Tort y Santasugsana, 2022).…”

On borders and boundaries in Spain: A state of the art

“…Valencian Community and those between Catalonia and Aragon. The project culminated in the publication of a study, jointly edited by Tort and Galindo (2018), which has been the source for subsequent works published both in journals and as book chapters (Galindo, Santasusagna andTort, 2019, 2020;Galindo, 2020;Santasusagna, Galindo and Tort, 2020). The group's most recent publications have stressed the importance of inter-AC boundaries in the management of the Covid-19 crisis, including a comparative case study of the situation on the French-Spanish border (Galindo, 2021;Galindo, Tort and Santasugsana, 2022).…”