'What is going on and what should we do?': Divergent frames in multifunctional projects

Multifunctional projects offer advantages because they enable synergetic effects among functions. However, realizing these plans is more challenging than mono-functional projects because of the difficult adjustment of several functions in an area and the involvement of a larger diversity of actors with often conflicting interpretations about decision contexts. The present paper is an in-depth study about how predominant interpretations mobilize actors and influence their choices in the decision-making process of a multifunctional land use project. To this end, we reconstruct the decision process of an urban brownfield multifunctional project located in the western part of the Netherlands. To indicate what actors interpret as problems and solutions in decision contexts, we use the concept of ‘frames’ as a lens. We reconstructed the decision-making process of the project by interviewing 17 actors and reviewing more than 70 documents. Following a grounded theory approach, we evaluated decisions that actors indicated as having an influence on the design and the conditions of the project. The analytical results show that frames act as filters of how actors perceive a problem, shaping their interests and the required actions to solve the perceived problems. In particular, our results show that frame divergences are often resolved by the emergence of a predominant frame to make an actor gain influence in different decision arenas and contexts. When actors use their power to establish their own frame as predominant, other actors might mobilize because the prevalent frame helps them to achieve their own interests, or because they are forced to follow a particular course of action. Mobilizing around a predominant frame involves decision trade-offs. Although trade-offs are unavoidable in decision contexts, it is important to bring frames to the surface to create awareness about the consequences of actors’ choices. In light of our results, we consider that understanding how predominant frames emerge and how other actors mobilize around them helps to anticipate strategies to support the predominance of frames that will support the achievement of mutual gains or joint benefits instead of individual interests.