Bridging the perception gap? When top-down built megaprojects meet bottom-up perceptions: a case study of Suramadu bridge, Indonesia

Abstract

For the last few decades, the development of mega-infrastructure projects has been high on the agendas of policymakers in Southeast Asia. Despite the potential benefits of such projects, there are also inevitable societal impacts that often lead to protests by local people. In general, most literature on megaprojects focuses solely on managing projects, with limited coverage of local people's perceptions. This article, however, offers an analytical approach to perception making, adopted from psychology theories, which is then elaborated upon in a quantitative and qualitative empirical setting using the Suramadu cable-stayed bridge in Indonesia as a case study. Our main argument is that perceptions about megaprojects can change as a result of long-term, high-level exposure to such projects. The results imply the need for megaproject development to take people's perceptions into account to bridge the gap between topdown expected benefits and bottom-up acceptance or rejection by those outside the central power.

Opaque Urban Planning. The Megaproject Santa Cruz Verde 2030 Seen from the Local Perspective (Tenerife, Spain)

“…This paper aims to understand the planning process of Santa Cruz Verde 2030 from a stakeholder perspective. There is a research gap in local perceptions of megaprojects in general [9]. However, the question of which stakeholder groups are relevant for large-scale urban development projects has already been addressed by several authors, both from a theoretical and a practical point of view [32,58,59].…”

“…The projects' initiators or responsible planners are primary stakeholders because they actively shape the project. Contrary to that, secondary stakeholders influence and are influenced by the project, "but are not directly involved in it" [9] (p. 4). We selected actors from both stakeholder groups (see Figure 4) to seize different perceptions of the megaproject.…”

“…Addressing these aspects from a local stakeholder's point of view is one feasible access, but it is still a perspective that is researched to a lesser extent [9]. However, this perspective is relevant because local groups will not only experience the externalities of the megaproject [31] but are also considered to be of crucial importance for the project's success [32].…”

“…Research on megaprojects has focused on stakeholders that are in charge, but not on those who might be affected indirectly [8] (p. 1537). With this paper, we aim to bridge the gap between "top-down built megaprojects [and] bottom-up perceptions" [9]. Our objective is to understand the local stakeholders' perspective on the megaproject Santa Cruz Verde 2030 using five qualitative interviews with stakeholders from politics, urban planning, the real estate sector and an environmental association.…”