Anthony Flint asks: What can we learn from the failures of Boston's Big Dig about what needs to change about planning and building mega-projects?
"The Big Dig is a unique and complex project. But the context for building it deserves examination. Out of the tragedy come some compelling lessons about the integrity - and the limitations - of city-building and mega-projects.
...The caricature of the Big Dig is that it was a treasure trove of jobs and federal funding. But it's neither the boondoggle nor the corruption sinkhole it's been made out to be. It was a hugely ambitious undertaking that had to deal with one curve ball after another, whether unstable soil, 300-year-old building foundations, or how to make sure long stretches of tunnels are ventilated in a fire or emergency.
...Infrastructure projects such as the Big Dig will require big money, innovation and resolve; mega-projects need to be executed with the kind of pride in craftsmanship that gave us the stone bridges of Frederick Law Olmsted's parks 100 years ago."
Thanks to Anthony Flint
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