Local and Urban Politics

E19 - Policy Coordination and Local Public Administration

Date: Jun 1 | Time: 01:30pm to 03:00pm | Location: Classroom - CL 407 Room ID:15738

Chair/Président/Présidente : David Siegel (Brock University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Carey Doberstein (University of British Columbia)

From Deserving to Undeserving? Targeting Senior Citizens through the Age Friendly Cities Program in Toronto: Meghan Joy (Concordia University)
Abstract: The Age Friendly Cities (AFC) program has grown in popularity since its inception in 2007. The burgeoning literature documenting the program in cities worldwide remains hopeful that this can be an effective approach to supporting aging-in-place and combating ageism in an uncertain era of population aging and urbanization. However, AFCs have been critiqued as diminutive in practice; too localized to meet the needs of senior citizens more substantially. New literature suggests that the problem lies with the program’s targeting of seniors as agents in need of activation rather than citizens deserving of entitlements. This conflicts with the policy literature on the social construction of target groups, which identifies seniors as a ‘deserving’ group that receives ample welfare state protections. The AFC program thus represents an initiative that can offer considerable insight into how and why this social construction might be breaking down and with what consequences. I examine new theoretical critiques of AFCs through an empirical study of the program in Toronto. I analyze key texts on AFCs in the city, including public reports and qualitative interviews with 82 local policy actors, focusing on the framing of population aging as a policy issue and senior citizens as a target group. My findings suggest that the positive social construction of senior citizens is unraveling and that this is limiting the substance of AFCs in Toronto. I outline how the AFC approach can support the design of a positive construction of senior citizens that can bolster the scale of the program.

The Challenges of Raising Local Revenues in the Municipalities of Accra (Ghana) and Nairobi (Kenya): Colette Nyirakamana (McMaster University)
Abstract: Since the 1990s, raising local revenues has been an ongoing challenge for Sub-Saharan urban municipalities. The difficulties of raising more revenues lead to the weak capacity of local actors to fund local programs valued by the citizens while increasing their financial dependence on central government budget transfers and international organizations financial assistance. This paper addresses two questions: 1) why are local actors unable to mobilize the full potential of local revenues in their jurisdictions; 2) what strategies do local actors undertake to surmount these challenges? I draw upon three theoretical approaches to investigate these questions in the cases of Accra (Ghana) and Nairobi (Kenya). First, urban governance theories underscore the importance of linking local revenue mobilization with service delivery; the implementation of mechanisms for accountability and transparency and the creation of opportunities for profits to raise more revenues. Secondly, the administrative capacity literature highlights the necessity for local actors to strengthen their administrative capacity through the constitution of competent human resources with the ability to carry out effective strategies for greater revenue mobilization. Finally, the political behavior literature underlines how the willingness of local elected officials to monitor and empower local public servants and ensure an effective management of local affairs has a considerable effect on local revenue mobilization. Based on empirical data derived from semi-directed interviews with various actors combined with primary source documents, I will analyze the extent to which these three theoretical assumptions apply to the cases of local revenue mobilization in Accra and Nairobi.