Delayed arrival: planning, competition and conflict in the Rail Baltic terminal project in Tallinn, Estonia

ABSTRACT

This article is an account of a planning process that is distributed and difficult to follow. By performing a thorough analysis of the design competition of the future Rail Baltic terminal in Tallinn, Estonia, it makes visible and critiques the decisions and dynamics enabled by the often-opaque processes of megaproject infrastructure planning and landmark design competitions. For this, the study first outlines a historiology of expectations for development created by new urban rail terminals. Then it relates the discourses of design, megaprojects and design competitions as trait-making processes with the potential to materialize future visions of society. The case study relies on expansive discourse analysis and in-depth expert interviews to trace key planning decisions, design strategies and stakeholder motivation impacting the planning of the Rail Baltic terminal and its role in the wider public realm of Tallinn. The study finds that the interlinked processes of megaproject planning and design competitions have inherent democratic deficiencies which can be counterproductive to benefitting the public realm. The results also suggest the need for a more socially responsible approach to planning infrastructure megaprojects.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban rail terminals
• urban planning
• design competitions
• station-area development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).