From Dream to Reality: Scaling the Construction Planning Hurdles of a Megaproject
From Dream to Reality: Scaling the Construction Planning Hurdles of a Megaproject

Author: Orikaye Brown-West

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2008-11-10

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 055700747X

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Discusses how the dream of a megaproject is realized, elucidates the various demands, and explains why it takes years to materialize. It asserts that a megaproject is any project that requires a great deal of management courage, capital, patience, and well-conceived plans. And that managing a megaproject is more than managing a major construction effort; it is also managing a public responsibility with the concomitant management accountability and transparency. It advances the Big Dig as the case study megaproject of record, because none of the other notable megaprojects in the 20th century can boast the paradoxes and the lessons that the Big Dig provides. It affirms that leadership engagement, imagination, and political alignment, facilitate the realization of such dream. It espouses good planning and invokes foresight considerations as a sine qua non for getting the right strategic gaps closed, the misdeeds avoided and the right mechanics applied for a successful project outcome.

In DEFENSE of the BIG DIG: How Politics Affected the Planning, Design and Construction of the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project
In DEFENSE of the BIG DIG: How Politics Affected the Planning, Design and Construction of the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project

Author: Orikaye G. Brown-West

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2008-09-06

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1430312653

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Tells the story of the planning, design and construction of the Big Dig, Boston's Central Artery and Tunnel project from a personal perspective. This most complex and technologically challenging project is a paradox of praises and blame. This book defends the professionals who planned, designed and constructed it; and blames the politics of project planning for the shortcomings.

Completing the "Big Dig"
Completing the

Author: Transportation Research Board

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2003-03-21

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 0309088879

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Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel Project, a 7.8 mile system of bridges and underground highways and ramps, is the most expensive public works project ever undertaken in the United States. The original cost estimate of $2.6 billion has already been exceeded by $12 billion, and the project will not be completed until 2005, seven years late. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA), the public steward of the project, requested that the National Research Council carry out an independent assessment of the project's management and contract administration practices, with a focus on the present situation and measures that should be taken to bring the project to a successful conclusion. This report presents the committee's findings and recommendations pertaining to cost, scheduling, and transitioning from the current organization dominated by consultants to an operations organization composed largely of full-time MTA staff. The report recommends that MTA establish an external, independent, peer-review program to address technical and management issues until the transition to operations and maintenance is complete; begin a media campaign now to teach drivers how to use the new system safely; and develop, immediately implement, and maintain a comprehensive security program.

Policy and Planning for Large Infrastructure Projects
Policy and Planning for Large Infrastructure Projects

Author: Bent Flyvbjerg

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: "This paper focuses on problems and their causes and cures in policy and planning for large infrastructure projects. First, it identifies as the main problem in major infrastructure development pervasive misinformation about the costs, benefits, and risks involved. A consequence of misinformation is massive cost overruns, benefit shortfalls, and waste. Second, the paper explores the causes of misinformation and finds that political-economic explanations best account for the available evidence: planners and promoters deliberately misrepresent costs, benefits, and risks in order to increase the likelihood that it is their projects, and not the competition's, that gain approval and funding. This results in the "survival of the unfittest," where often it is not the best projects that are built, but the most misrepresented ones. Finally, the paper presents measures for reforming policy and planning for large infrastructure projects, with a focus on better planning methods and changed governance structures, the latter being more important."--World Bank web site.

Imagine Boston 2030
Imagine Boston 2030

Author: City Of Boston

Publisher:

Published: 2017-09-08

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781389647642

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Today, Boston is in a uniquely powerful position to make our city more affordable, equitable, connected, and resilient. We will seize this moment to guide our growth to support our dynamic economy, connect more residents to opportunity, create vibrant neighborhoods, and continue our legacy as a thriving waterfront city.Mayor Martin J. Walsh's Imagine Boston 2030 is the first citywide plan in more than 50 years. This vision was shaped by more than 15,000 Boston voices.

Completing the "Big Dig"
Completing the

Author: Transportation Research Board

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2003-02-21

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 0309134471

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Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel Project, a 7.8 mile system of bridges and underground highways and ramps, is the most expensive public works project ever undertaken in the United States. The original cost estimate of $2.6 billion has already been exceeded by $12 billion, and the project will not be completed until 2005, seven years late. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA), the public steward of the project, requested that the National Research Council carry out an independent assessment of the project's management and contract administration practices, with a focus on the present situation and measures that should be taken to bring the project to a successful conclusion. This report presents the committee's findings and recommendations pertaining to cost, scheduling, and transitioning from the current organization dominated by consultants to an operations organization composed largely of full-time MTA staff. The report recommends that MTA establish an external, independent, peer-review program to address technical and management issues until the transition to operations and maintenance is complete; begin a media campaign now to teach drivers how to use the new system safely; and develop, immediately implement, and maintain a comprehensive security program.

Cost and Value Management in Projects
Cost and Value Management in Projects

Author: Ray R. Venkataraman

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-08-26

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1118174186

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Cost and Value Management in Projects provides practicing managers with a thorough understanding of the various dimensions of cost and value in projects, along with the factors that impact them, and the managerial approaches that would be most effective for achieving cost efficiency and value optimization. This book addresses cost from a strategic perspective, offering thorough coverage of the various elements of value management such as value planning, value engineering and value analysis from the perspective of projects.

Urban Design Reader
Urban Design Reader

Author: Steve Tiesdell

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-02-07

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 1136350624

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Essential reading for students and practitioners of urban design, this collection of essays introduces the 6 dimensions of urban design through a range of the most important classic and contemporary key texts. Urban design as a form of place making has become an increasingly significant area of academic endeavour, of public policy and professional practice. Compiled by the authors of the best selling Public Places Urban Spaces, this indispensable guide includes all the crucial definitions and various understandings of the subject, as well as a practical look at how to implement urban design that readers will need to refer to time and time again. Uniquely, the selections of essays that include the works of Gehl, Jacobs, and Cullen, are presented substantially in their original form, and the truly accessible dip-in-and-out format will enable readers to form a deeper, practical understanding of urban design.