ABSTRACT
In the first Trans-Talk seminar Wayne Parsons gave a stimulating paper in which he threw down the gauntlet to the appraisal community. He claimed that, relative to other policy areas, transport appraisal is technocratic in nature, perhaps excessively so. The stated aim of the Appraisal Summary Table is to make the appraisal process more transparent and to provide a clearer, more systematic and consistent basis on which to found decisions. The chapter looks at conceptual models of appraisal and decision-making. The East London River Crossing was a very large bridge project across the River Thames, which was intended to join the road networks north and south of the river at a point near Greenwich. In 1984, Vagverket, the Swedish National Road Administration, decided upon a 10-year investment programme, consisting of many distinct infrastructure projects across the national network.
