Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment

by Alan A. Altshuler

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Since the demise of urban renewal in the early 1970s, the politics of large-scale public investment in and around major American cities has received little scholarly attention. In MEGA-PROJECTS, Alan Altshuler and David Luberoff analyze the unprecedented wave of large-scale (mega-) public investments that occurred in American cities during the 1950s and 1960s; the social upheavals they triggered, which derailed large numbers of projects during the late 1960s and early 1970s; and the political impulses that have shaped a new generation of urban mega-projects in the decades since. They also appraise the most important consequences of policy shifts over this half-century and draw out common themes from the rich variety of programmatic and project developments that they chronicle. The authors integrate narratives of national as well as state and local policymaking, and of mobilization by (mainly local) project advocates, with a profound examination of how well leading theories of urban politics explain the observed realities. The specific cases they analyze include a wide mix of transportation and downtown revitalization projects, drawn from numerous regions—most notably Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Portland, and Seattle. While their original research focuses on highway, airport, and rail transit programs and projects, they draw as well on the work of others to analyze the politics of public investment in urban renewal, downtown retailing, convention centers, and professional sports facilities. In comparing their findings with leading theories of urban and American politics, Altshuler and Luberoff arrive at some surprising findings about which perform best and also reveal some important gaps in the literature as a whole. In a concluding chapter, they examine the potential effects of new fiscal pressures, business mobilization to relax environmental constraints, and security concerns in the wake of September 11. And they make clear their own views about how best to achieve a balance between developmental, environmental, and democratic values in public investment decisionmaking. Integrating fifty years of urban development history with leading theories of urban and American politics, MEGA-PROJECTS provides significant new insights into urban and intergovernmental politics.
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Genres: Urban Planning, Nonfiction, Urban, Urban Studies

351 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Gede Suprayoga · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is compelling because it explains the precedent and the prospect of megaprojects at the time it was published. The book is meant to understand why the U.S. government and the interested private and community entities were planning and building several noticeable megaprojects during the post-war periods. The authors seek to develop an urban politics theory that set for the rise of megaprojects in the U.S. They also project whether the tendency of megaprojects will last in the next decades based on the framework.

The book contains rich data regarding actors and events that shape the megaproject reality. The megaprojects are focused on urban transportation infrastructures, such as expressways, mass rapid transit, and airports. The writing is based on the data gathered from the megaproject experiences in the U.S. Therefore, those two who are outside of the context should read this book carefully when making conclusions about megaprojects operated in theirs. But the book can be useful to understand that megaprojects are complex, involving different public and private actors who contest their interests. This seems to be a common phenomenon worldwide.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting analysis of the political process behind the construction of mega-projects in the US from the 1950s. The authors use case studies of airports, highways and transit projects. The main point is to tie in this empirical part with insights from political science to try to understand which type of political environment allowed the surge in construction in the 1950s and 1960s and also the backlash in the 1970s and 1980s. It is also a balance between development interests and local (NIMBY) and environmental concerns. They are able to draw patterns and present nice conclusions, such as the role of public entrepreneurship, the importance of backing from private interests and the need to have a public debate on the projects. The The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro can be read almost as another case study of the patterns explained here. The book was written in 2002. Since then, many other countries, specially in the Middle East and Asia developed projects that eclipse those in the US. It begs the question if these governments followed the lessons presented in the book or if they are still in the early stages of the process (like the US in the 1950s) and implemented these developments without any type of public debate. If that is so, how the trend of the next fifty years will develop in these places?

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors have an unparalleled ability to tell you everything you need to know, and no more, to understand why a given airport, or tunnel, or rail line got built when and where it did. In one state, you need to know about the local Republican coalition. In another, knowing it had strong business support is enough. This lets them look very broadly and deeply at the same time. Their literature review also did a better job of summarizing theories of urban politics than the full semester course I took on the subject.

This is very much a book from the project point of view, however. So rail gets a bit of poo-pooing because you're never looking at land use issues, just pure mobility. It's not about planning, it's about building. In some sense that's why it's so good -- it's focused and can dispense with a lot of the fluffy stuff -- but it's also why I had to dock it a star.