The changing decision-making narratives in 25 years of TEN-T policies

Abstract

Abstract This paper reviews changes in the role and practice of planners in the last 25 years of European policy on the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T)., aiming at describing the role of technicians in the decision-making process, and their contribution to the consolidation of collaborative and transparent planning practices. The review highlights the driving forces that have use technical considerations to merely create a self-justifying narrative of a process dominated by the institutional stakeholders. The key aspects examined include (1) the respective roles of institutional decision makers (at EU and national levels), other stakeholders and the public; (2) the technical tools mobilized in the process; and (4) the evolution of the prevailing narratives, their rationale, the factual evidence behind them, and their capacity to build up consensus and to empower or to alienate key stakeholders. The TEN-T process was effectively captured by a coalition of EC and national transport services, as a means to claim more resources for transport infrastructure expansion. The coalition was backed by most of the transport stakeholders, in spite of some minor criticisms (on modal distribution….), as a way to get access to public funding. The academic criticism has not resulted in any changes (although has produced some self-justifying reports from the EC); legal and institutional windows to strengthen the planning process have not resulted in more collaborative practices or enhanced review practices.