Megaprojects and community participation: South Waterfront project in Portland, Oregon

Abstract

The recent generation of megaprojects – defined as extremely large-scale investment projects includes mixed-use developments based on public–private partnership. Despite the benefits estimated as the result of megaprojects, many of the projects lead to social and economic challenges resulting from the missed and unanswered conflicts with their stakeholders. As power structure affect fundamentally on the definition and formation of megaprojects, these challenges can be discussed through related power theories. Some cities try to reduce the conflicts by involving the community during the planning process. South Waterfront redevelopment project, in Portland Oregon, is an example of a megaproject in which various stakeholders and the related communities were involved. This paper studies the conflicts over South Waterfront’s development and explains how the project addressed them. It uses the “three-dimensional view of power” theory to discuss the different ways in which power is exercised in planning and construction of megaprojects. The content analysis method is used and the data gathered through deep interview and related reports. It concludes that community involvement in the project led to some public and stakeholder’s benefits. Also, it discusses in which ways different stakeholders usually exercise their power to get their interests in megaprojects.

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