The Cultures of Decision-Making: A qualitative study of urban transport projects in Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract This paper seeks to advance the practical insights from applying a polyrational approach on researching transport policy. Transport planning in Egypt is examined by applying cultural theory to ascertain different stakeholders’ rationality in the decision-making process. A ‘Stakeholder Driven Decision-making Model’ (SDDM) is put forward as a more robust and nuanced approach to examine transport planning decisions in developing countries. A cultural perspective of understanding actors’ values and rationality is very much needed in this field; as transport planners and traffic engineers, especially in developing countries, have adopted a highly technocratic approach to address urban transport problems and implement unrealistic policy. The proliferating car dependency culture in Alexandria is a typical example of the failure of such technical studies, which highlights the research gap in transport governance studies that neglect policy processes and outcomes. Transport studies tend to miss the critical socio-cultural and political aspects of decision-making and often resulted in failure during the early phases of implementation. Through applying SDDM, this paper shows a way forward to examine urban transport decisions, with a qualitative approach, for more effective transport planning and effective policy formulation.