Correlation between urban indices: The management of urban water use and urban marginalization

Abstract

This paper is the result of two studies. The first was applied research that involved the construction of a system of indicators
to assess water management for urban use (IGSA) at forty utility providers in Mexico. The second study was documentary in nature and used data published by the National Population Council (CONAPO) on the Urban Marginalization Index (IMU), in an equal number of localities. The fundamental purpose was to find the correlation between these two dimensions. The statistical technique of simple correlation was used to empirically test affirmations from different studies that state that when better water services are provided to communities, urban marginalization is affected positively. The results show an inverse correlation between indicators, which can be interpreted as: the higher the rate of water management, the lower the level of marginalization in cities. It is concluded that the benefits of investing in water management outweigh the costs, and approaches are presented to understand why the management of water services for urban use should be improved, thereby improving quality of life for inhabitants of urban areas.