How Is the World Shaped by Infrastructure Projects That Have Been Cancelled or Stalled?

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dc.contributor.authorGraef, Dana J.
dc.contributor.authorCole, Montina
dc.contributor.authorCovich, Alan P.
dc.contributor.authorHuete-Pérez, Jorge A.
dc.contributor.authorMaxwell, Amanda
dc.contributor.authorPeyton, Jonathan
dc.contributor.authorStuhl, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorVelásquez Runk, Julie
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-22T18:15:03Z
dc.date.available2022-08-22T18:15:03Z
dc.date.issued2022-08
dc.descriptionThis report summarizes the findings of the Unimplemented Development Synthesis Workshop held at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, Maryland from January 21–23, 2020.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis report is the result of an interdisciplinary, international effort to examine the socio-environmental consequences of large-scale infrastructure projects that have been planned but not built—and reasons why projects have been cancelled or stalled. Collectively, our team examined eight cases of cancelled or stalled infrastructure projects in the Americas, drawing from our experiences in academic research and professional practice. Across cases, we found that projects were cancelled or stalled for interrelated reasons including environmental impact assessments, litigation and legislation, strong opposition and media attention, and/or increasing costs and faltering justifications. Our work further shows that cancelled or stalled development projects can create socio-environmental consequences that persist and cascade over time. The consequences of unbuilt infrastructure projects include the following: the development of new research networks; the establishment of precedents for socio-environmental assessment; the strengthening of social movements, often against the proposed development; changes in land use and land tenure; the exposure of environmental racism and injustice; and shifted development interventions. In sum, paying attention to cancelled and stalled projects provides a transdisciplinary lens for understanding broader processes of development, knowledge, power, science, and socio-environmental change. We conclude that when proposed large infrastructure projects are assessed, additional attention needs to be given to how they may shape landscapes and societies even if they are never built.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), under funding received from the National Science Foundation, Grant # DBI-1639145.en_US
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/xxrf-xivx
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/29092
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtSESYNC - National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center
dc.relation.isAvailableAtDigital Repository at the University of Maryland
dc.relation.isAvailableAtUniversity of Maryland (College Park, MD)
dc.subjectmegaprojectsen_US
dc.subjectinfrastructureen_US
dc.subjectdevelopmenten_US
dc.subjectAmericasen_US
dc.subjectenvironmenten_US
dc.subjectimpactsen_US
dc.subjectsynthesisen_US
dc.titleHow Is the World Shaped by Infrastructure Projects That Have Been Cancelled or Stalled?en_US
dc.typeWorking Paperen_US

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