The article first describes characteristics of major infrastructure projects. Second, it documents a much neglected topic in economics: that ex ante estimates of costs and benefits are often very different from actual ex post costs and benefits. For large infrastructure projects the consequences...

Because of the prominent position of urban rail in reducing urban transport-related problems, such as congestion and air pollution, insights into the costs of possible new urban rail projects is very relevant for those involved with cost estimations, policy makers, cost-benefit analysts, and...

Managing large-scale transportation infrastructure projects is difficult due to frequent misinformation about the costs which results in large cost overruns that often threaten the overall project viability. This paper investigates the explanations for cost overruns that are given in the...

As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, money has become a key issue. Infrastructure work is expected to cost a budget busting $14.5 billion for each. In a show of outrage, Brazilians rioted, angered at the rising cost and scandals of these megaprojects among other...

Megaproject Planning and Management: Essential Readings contains the seminal articles from the growing body of research on megaproject planning and management along with an original introduction by the editor.Bent Flyvbjerg, the leading and most cited authority in the field, has used...

Do different types of megaprojects have different cost overruns? This apparently simple question is at the heart of research at the University of Oxford aimed at understanding the characteristics of megaprojects, particularly in terms of how they are established, run and concluded.In this study,...

This article asks how planning scholarship may effectively gain impact in planning practice through media exposure. In liberal democracies, the public sphere is dominated by mass media. Therefore, working with such media is a prerequisite for effective public impact of planning research. Using...

Private rocket companies like SpaceX have driven launch costs so far down that they have increased demand for services in space. The secret to their success is that they treat rocket systems as platforms rather than as bespoke, one-off projects. Having standard and reusable components makes it...

Based on a review of available data from a database on large-scale transport infrastructure projects, this paper investigates the hypothesis that traffic forecasts for road links in Europe are geographically biased with underestimated traffic volumes in metropolitan areas and overestimated...