Revisiting transportation planning and decision making theory: The case of Denver International Airport

Current approaches to transportation planning have yielded, at best, inconsistent results. Numerous projects, based on the traditional rational-comprehensive model, have failed to achieve their original objectives. Although scholars have, for decades, identified the weaknesses of this model and proposed new alternatives, it continues to dominate transportation planning. The case of Denver International Airport illustrates its weaknesses and the need to adopt more flexible alternative approaches that incorporate elements of robustness, corrigibility, hedging and resilience. For airport planning specifically, the new, highly volatile environment created by deregulation and increased public sensitivities needs to be recognized and new guidelines incorporating findings such as these should be designed and promulgated by the FAA.