Grandi opere infrastrutturali e costruzione del consenso1

Major infrastructure projects and consensus building /em> - One central issue for the feasibility of major infrastructures in Italy concerns innovation in consultation procedures which at present are ineffective in guaranteeing the quality, fairness and feasibility of the work. The search for structured consultation procedures that are repeatable, flexible and able to offer transparency and right of access to the different parties involved at the stage when projects are being defined, must be interpreted not only as a ‘solution’ for building consensus around an infrastructure project and for reducing conflicts, but also as an opportunity for improving the quality of the infrastructure project itself. The need to rethink institutional consultation procedures results from consideration of the utility of institutionalizing i.e. to consolidate them within routine governance processes and to raise them to a further level of broadly shared cultural values and standards - forms of public debate on infrastructure projects that are being planned which must be regulated to guarantee their legitimation and transparency and the participation of the parties involved. The monograph section gives a review of the ways in which the institutionalisation of procedures for planning major infrastructure projects has been addressed in other European countries, highlighting the advantages and limits of these procedures when tested against the results.