Decision-Making on Transport Infrastructure and Contested Information: A Critical Analysis of Three Approaches

Karel Martens and Peter van Weelden

European Planning Studies, 2014, vol. 22, issue 3, 648-666

Abstract: Information is highly contested in virtually all decision-making processes on large infrastructure projects, leading to the delay or cancellation of projects. Contested information has two characteristics: uncertainty and ambiguity. The uncertainty of information refers to the lack of reliable knowledge about the characteristics and future effects of infrastructure projects. The ambiguity of information means that different actors have different (legitimate and valid) perspectives on the characteristics and effects of infrastructure projects. Information is contested if both uncertainty and ambiguity apply. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework based on different perspectives on rationality and the role ascribed to information in decision-making. We then use this framework to analyse three approaches aiming to deal with the contested nature of information. The analysis shows that none of the approaches can fully deal with the contested nature of information, because no practically feasible approach has yet been developed to effectively address the ambiguity of information. We end with a brief discussion of the possible responses to this finding.

Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/09654313.2013.783665 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:eurpls:v:22:y:2014:i:3:p:648-666

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/CEPS20

DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2013.783665

Access Statistics for this article

European Planning Studies is currently edited by Philip Cooke and Louis Albrechts

More articles in European Planning Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().