Governance of intermediate cities: lessons from post-disaster action in the Acapulco Metropolitan area, México

Abstract

This article analyses the governance patterns of post-disaster public action carried out after Hurricanes Ingrid and Manuel hit Coyuca de Benítez in 2013, a municipality that is part of the Metropolitan Area of Acapulco, Mexico, seeking to contribute towards broadening knowledge about the modes of governance of intermediate cities, and in particular, those related to disaster risk reduction. Conceptually, the concept of adaptive governance is presented to contrast and reflect on prevailing governance patterns in Coyuca. Methodologically speaking, this work is based on the sociology of public action, to analyse the reconstruction processes of infrastructure, public services, and housing, through interviews, focus groups, and diverse written sources. This paper argues that, despite the decentralization and democratization efforts of recent decades, governance patterns are highly centralized and not very adaptive, limiting the development of participatory and articulated interventions that meet people's daily needs and improve their quality of life. In this context, public action, rather than reducing disaster risks, has increased and/or generated new risks in already precarious and vulnerable urban territories. Along the same vein, this paper questions the relevance of regulatory and conceptual frameworks, such as adaptive governance, to guide significant changes, given the distance between ideal and existing governance patterns in the territories.