Megaprojects in Central America
Local Narratives About Development and the Good Life
Published on 28. November 2025
204 pages
978-1-040-61919-3 (ISBN)
Description
Embedded in Southern voices and epistemologies, this book explores how local communities in Central America understand development and the good life in the context of large-scale infrastructure projects.
The analysis focuses on six case studies: the Reventazon hydropower plant and the Guanacaste tourism projects in Costa Rica, the Barro Blanco hydropower plant in Panama, the Bahia de Tela tourism area in Honduras, and the La India and La Libertad gold mines in Nicaragua. The book draws on extensive in-depth interviews, participatory workshops and surveys to demonstrate how different social groups interpret the impacts of megaprojects. It critically examines the tensions between externally-driven investment initiatives - and the values they promote - and locally-rooted worldviews, wellbeing and ways of life. The volume concludes with a practical workshop proposal to help communities strengthen their resilience and formulate alternative development pathways based on their own cultural and social frameworks.
This book will be of particular interest to scholars in the fields of development and Latin American studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners working in the region.
The analysis focuses on six case studies: the Reventazon hydropower plant and the Guanacaste tourism projects in Costa Rica, the Barro Blanco hydropower plant in Panama, the Bahia de Tela tourism area in Honduras, and the La India and La Libertad gold mines in Nicaragua. The book draws on extensive in-depth interviews, participatory workshops and surveys to demonstrate how different social groups interpret the impacts of megaprojects. It critically examines the tensions between externally-driven investment initiatives - and the values they promote - and locally-rooted worldviews, wellbeing and ways of life. The volume concludes with a practical workshop proposal to help communities strengthen their resilience and formulate alternative development pathways based on their own cultural and social frameworks.
This book will be of particular interest to scholars in the fields of development and Latin American studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners working in the region.
Reviews / Votes
"Bringing solid analysis on the development challenges of countries in Central America, this book reaches a much broader scope, the knowledge and practices of the Global South. Top-down large infrastructure projects, when not connected to local effective needs, miss the main point: empowerment of communities in the countries involved. A powerful book, with direct on the ground research."Professor Ladislau Dowbor, Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo, Brazil (dowbor.org)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Reflowable
Illustrations
22 Tables, black and white; 2 Line drawings, black and white; 7 Halftones, black and white; 9 Illustrations, black and white
File size
2,94 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-040-61919-3 (9781040619193)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Katarzyna Dembicz | Ewelina Biczynska
Megaprojects in Central America
Local Narratives About Development and the Good Life
Book
approx. 11/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€207.40
Not yet published
Persons
Katarzyna Dembicz is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Iberian and Ibero-American Studies at the University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on social and economic change, regional development, and demographics in Latin America, particularly in Cuba and Central America. She is a member of the EU's "Foro Europa-Cuba" network. She is the former Secretary General of REDIAL and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Ameryka Lacinska, a Polish quarterly scientific journal about Latin America. She also serves on the CEISAL (Council for Social Science Research on Latin America in Europe).
Ewelina Biczynska is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Her academic interests focus on spatial justice, social and urban change, and social issues-particularly in the context of Latin America. She has participated in several research projects on development and transformation in Latin American cities and regions, as well as studies on homelessness.
Ewelina Biczynska is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Her academic interests focus on spatial justice, social and urban change, and social issues-particularly in the context of Latin America. She has participated in several research projects on development and transformation in Latin American cities and regions, as well as studies on homelessness.
Content
Introduction 1: Why Talk About Development? A Philosophical Approach from a Latin American Perspective 2: The Research Project and Its Methodological Basis 3: Development From a Local Perspective 4: Development: The Invisible Frontiers of (Mis)Understanding 5: The Discussion Surrounding Development and Megaprojects in the National Press of Central America 6: Turning Ideas into Impact: Workshop Proposal & Key Takeaways
