Conflict analysis study for public engagement programme in infrastructure planning

Purpose - Stakeholder management in the form of public engagement in urban planning and infrastructure project impact assessments have become increasingly prevailing. However, the exercise may involve some complex socio-economic considerations and critical conflict analysis/resolution scenarios. Without a scientific approach, it is difficult to distil a resolution from the chaotic public opinions, especially in those highly controversial issues. This paper proposes the use of conflict analysis to screen out the resolution in a scientific manner. Design/methodology/approach - This study uses a case of harbor-front design in Hong Kong to illustrate how the analysis was carried out to accomplish the objectives. Findings - The example has illustrated that the conflict analysis has helped resolve a set of major issues in the Hong Kong harbor-front redevelopment. Originality/value - The introduction of a structured conflict analysis framework for the government to systematically deal with the conflicting viewpoints from different parties (such as general public and other stakeholders) has been demonstrated, which can be used to map systematically the different viewpoints collected in the public engagement exercise. The results are more convincing and more likely to be acceptable by all the stakeholders.