GETTING REALISTIC ABOUT MEGAPROJECT PLANNING - THE CASE OF THE NEW DENVER-INTERNATIONAL-AIRPORT

Megaprojects continue to play a prominent role in promoting economic d evelopment, and have proliferated rapidly worldwide. But, as they have grown larger in number, size, and complexity, their planning, impleme ntation and ultimate success become increasingly problematic. Most enc ounter unexpected difficulties and seldom achieve their original objec tives. This article addresses the reasons for this state of affairs by focusing upon the relevance of the Rational model of decision making to the case of the new Denver International Airport. It traces its evo lution and considers the extent to which the Rational model explains t he major events. It concludes that this model has only Limited explana tory power because it does not incorporate political elements which pl ay a major role in megaprojects. The Rational model can be successfull y applied to an entire project only where the political system permits a powerful agency to design and implement the project. This condition is rarely met in democratic societies, especially in the U.S. Further more, its applicability is limited by the new environment in which pla nning takes place, an environment that is marked by the emergence of n ew actors and increasing turbulence and uncertainty. Accordingly, reco gnition of the role of power suggests that the utility of the Rational model is limited and that alternative planning approaches that emphas ize consensus building and flexibility need to be developed for megapr oject planning.