ابرپروژه ها، شهر سازی و منافع جامعه

Mega-projects figure prominently in the arsenal of contemporary city-building strategies. The allure is of a city redefined, placed on the world stage and able to improve services, facilities and revenues. Community attitudes to such projects are often mixed, with fears of gentrification, displacement or loss of existing city character. Although mega-projects are adopted to pursue global ambitions, concerted community-based demands are to use them to satisfy local needs. This article examines mega-projects that address both city-building and local concerns. Cases – situated in Montreal, Vancouver and Los Angeles – are examined in which innovative practices prioritized the quality of residential areas and needs of low-income households. The article reviews how agreements were reached, the form they took and neighborhood outcomes. The paper concludes by exploring whether new constellations of community-based actors and novel planning processes are emerging in parallel to the rise in mega-projects.

Large-scale development projects are a key element in contemporary city-building strategies. Major projects, whether a new stadium, a world-class museum, a high-speed rail line, or another Petronus-like Tower, are seen as transformative, placing a city on the world stage and thereby attracting visitors, investment, jobs, and, ultimately, a higher quality of life for residents. Mega-projects – large-scale facilities and infrastructure – channel investment into specific locations in the city. They often bring together efforts to redevelop the urban fabric with the promotion of economic development. Such diverse aims are complemented by new means of financing, implementing and operating large-scale projects, typically involving public and private partners. The paper examines selected mega-project developments in Canada and the United States and asks: What types of community-oriented agreements are emerging in association with large-scale urban projects? Are new forms of urban development around mega-projects paralleled by new constellations of political actors and political processes? Urban projects in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Montreal are used as a basis for analysis. In these cities, community groups have linked large-scale urban development to the provision of local benefits. Though other projects could have been studied, the selected cases demonstrate a range of responses to mega-projects that highlight the changing nature of projects, types of community-developer engagement, and differences of local context. Material is drawn from interviews conducted by the author with key community participants as well as from policy and academic literature on the projects. Three themes structure the article. First is ‘the mega project’: How do mega-projects fit into urban development strategies? What are their typical features and effects? Second is the community benefits associated with such projects: To what extent are project developers committing to local benefits? Can specific outcomes be linked to different forms of community and civic engagement? Third is planning: What new relationships and practices are emerging?