ABSTRACT
The co-production of water, energy, and waste services, in which the recipient of a service also plays a fundamental role in managing the resources involved, has recently received considerable attention. The altered recipient-resource relationship involving the co-production of water, energy, and waste services may carry with it significant environmental implications. Increased proximity to a certain resource could, for example, result in its overuse owing to the perception that it is unlimited. The proximity that would be found in the case of co-production could bring with it alternative—which is to say, decentralised or hybrid—technological systems that operate on a more local scale and could be associated with more favourable environmental outcomes. The urgent need for equitable access to natural resources—which is inseparable from the durable management of these resources —demands instead examination of the extent to which co-production of common pool resources can simultaneously bring about genuine participation, socio-spatial equity, and environmental sustainability.
