Introduction: Mega-Transformations of Hydropower Few would question that early hydropower development represents a quintessential type of megaproject. Traditionally, a megaproject signified a massive, singular unit requiring extensive material
What Makes a Megaproject?
A Review of Global Hydropower Assemblages
Grant M. Gutierrez, Sarah Kelly, Joshua J. Cousins, and Christopher Sneddon
Contemporary Megaprojects
An Introduction
Seth Schindler, Simin Fadaee, and Dan Brockington
the Belt and Road Initiative's unprecedented scale and scope when he hailed it as the “project of the century” ( Dunford and Liu 2019 ). The Belt and Road Initiative is indeed emblematic of contemporary megaprojects, and there are other large
Mega-Plantations in Southeast Asia
Landscapes of Displacement
Miles Kenney-Lazar and Noboru Ishikawa
economies of large-scale and complex forms of plantation development that are inscribed upon rural environments at the landscape level. We develop this concept with reference to the literature on megaprojects. This literature has largely focused on large
The Urban Politics of Mega-Events
Grand Promises Meet Local Resistance
John Lauermann
over the urban politics of megaprojects. While there is a growing global interest in megaprojects ( Datta and Shaban 2017 ; Lauermann 2018 ), not all types of megaprojects fare so well. The mega-event industry has entered a period of crisis due to
Remaking Oceans Governance
Critical Perspectives on Marine Spatial Planning
Luke Fairbanks, Noëlle Boucquey, Lisa M. Campbell, and Sarah Wise
and jurisdictions but also comprise “megaprojects” in how they collectively represent a fundamental shift in the theory and practice of oceans governance worldwide. The framing of MSP demonstrates the ambitiousness of the idea. Most descriptions of
Becoming an Agricultural Growth Corridor
African Megaprojects at a Situated Scale
Serena Stein and Marc Kalina
Nacala. As part of the Nacala Development Corridor (NDC), a multi-sectoral infrastructural megaproject linking Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique, Malema sits at the nexus of regional developmental ambitions. Within its dusty and bustling central market, this
Biomimicry as a Meta-Resource and Megaproject
A Literature Review
Veronica Davidov
aspect of biomimicry ( Johnson 2010 ; Zerner 2012), which is unsurprising, given the somewhat occluded but highly relevant history of biomimicry as a research megaproject within DARPA. In response, Charles Zerner develops the concept of “stealth nature
Material Obstacles to Protest in the Urban Built Environment
Insights from Jordan
Jillian Schwedler
expansion of the city to accommodate population growth, absorb two major waves of refugees since 2003, and facilitate massive foreign investment in urban megaprojects; (2) infrastructural development, including urban sprawl, new bypass roads and overpasses
Amiel Bize
Social scientists working in Africa have begun to take an interest in roads and road building. This interest seems to stem from both theoretical and real-world developments: on the one hand, the “material turn” and the recent explosion of interest in infrastructure are drawing scholars’ attention to the “material substrate” that underlies social life; on the other, roads-focused development funding, low-cost Western credit, and the growing role of Chinese investment on the continent have resulted in a proliferation of road-building projects ranging from small rural feeder roads to large megaprojects. This is a moment of rapid change, and focusing on the concrete manifestations of that change offers scholars a rich focal point for understanding the more diffuse effects of a continental trend to make infrastructure the basis of development.
Unbuilt and Unfinished
The Temporalities of Infrastructure
Ashley Carse and David Kneas
phenomenon. Bent Flyvbjerg's “iron law of megaprojects” posits that they are “over budget, over time, over and over again” ( 2014: 11 ) because of receding implementation horizons, cost overruns, and political backlashes. Moreover, the presentation of the