Organisation de l’entretien de la voirie locale dans les territoires ruraux. Le cas de trois communes du Puy-de-Dôme

The paper aims at understanding the organization of maintenance of small roads, in the context of the current changes in rural land uses and governance. A conceptual framework, based on the service triangle by Gadrey, is used to identify distinct organizational configurations for the provision of maintenance services. Empirically, the study relies on interviews conducted in three municipalities in Puy-de-Dome (Auvergne Rhone Alpes region, France). The results highlight the diversity of public and private organizations involved in minor road maintenance. We show that, beside the main organizational configuration centered on the municipality, new configurations have been developed, involving local governments at higher levels, for the maintenance operations oriented towards the recreational and touristic uses of rural areas.