Megaproject Screening and Management: King’s Cross, Olympic Park and Nine Elms

Urban megaprojects are complex, unique and, almost invariably, contentious. Some megaprojects radically transform but others backfire and not only waste resources but damage the environment. At play with megaprojects, like the controversial Heathrow Airport expansion, are jobs, tax receipts, landowner uplift bets, hidden commissions or legitimate profit and prestige or disgrace. Sceptics condemn megaprojects as a cover or a contrivance by powerful vested interests to exploit rent gaps via structural violence and expulsion. Notwithstanding controversy, macroeconomic turbulence, policy flux, project complexity and practical difficulties vary in diverse architectural, urban design, institutional and geographic settings. Given political contentions, at the very least then, judgement on the merit or failure of a megaproject must involve multiple ecological, social and commercial consequential but also procedural considerations. From the literature and expert dialogue, the research developed a draft multi-criteria project evaluation framework with five key megaproject success drivers: Robust planning Smart institutions Quality project Project management Sustainable funding, London, with its global status, provides a rich milieu to analyse megaprojects using the assessment framework. The research investigated three case studies and details the first but summarises the others King’s Cross Olympic Park Nine Elms.