Contemporary Megaprojects

Contemporary megaprojects have evolved from the discreet, modernist projects undertaken in the past by centralized authorities to encompass everything from large-scale construction to space exploration. Contemporary Megaprojects explores how these projects have been impacted by cutting-edge technology, the private sector, and the processes of decentralization and dematerialization. With case studies ranging from mega-plantations in Southeast Asia to ocean mapping to sports events, the contributions in this collected volume demonstrate the increasing ambition and pervasiveness of these projects, as well as their significant impact on both society and the environment.

Seth Schindler is Senior Lecturer in Urban Development and Transformation in the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester. He previously coordinated the MA in Global Studies at Humboldt University of Berlin.

Simin Fadaee is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester. She is the author of Social Movements in Iran: Environmental and Civil Society (Routledge, 2012) and the editor of Understanding Southern Social Movements (Routledge, 2016). She is a co-editor of the Journal Sociology and serves as a board member of the Research Committee on Social Classes and Social Movements (RC47) of the International Sociological Association.

Dan Brockington is co-Director of the Sheffield Institute of International Development at the University of Sheffield. His recent books include The Anthropology of Conservation NGOs (Palgrave, 2018), and (with Christine Noel) Prosperity in Rural Africa? (Oxford University Press, 2021).