Replicated or homegrown planning model? The mutual constitution of ideas, interests and institutions in the delivery of a megaproject in Rio de Janeiro

ABSTRACT On the surface, contemporary urban megaprojects suggest a convergence in form: office towers, hotels, museums, shopping and renewed public spaces often involving transnational firms and renowned architectsHowever, framing local policiesas instances of a ‘serial reproduction’ of iconic landscapes obscures more than reveals how circulating planning models are reproduced and institutionalized. To this effect, this paper suggests a complementary approach between the literature of policy mobilities and new institutionalism focusing on how policies are ‘arrived at’ and the role of ideas in the policy process. An analytical framework is applied to the case study of a large-scale waterfront regeneration programme in Rio de Janeiro to examine the mutual evolvement between ideas, interests and institutions. The paper concludes by stressing the importance ofpaying attention to how policy knowledge is assembled, institutionalized and interests identified.