In recent years, the local government sector in European countries

has undergone important changes involving, among other things, the

externalisation of local public service provision through various forms of

corporatisation, public-public collaboration, public-private partnerships and

contracting out. An important consequence of these institutional changes has

been the recasting of local governance systems through the need for increased

cooperation between public and private actors. This article addresses these

matters with comparative reference to the experience in Italy and Sweden. In

doing so, it considers local governments in their constitutional and legal

contexts, leading to more detailed discussions of their externalisation initiatives

and resultant organisational forms and governance arrangements. Issues of

ownership have been important concerning the significance of ‘community’

and ‘place’ in the management of public affairs.