Document Type

Article

First Faculty Advisor

Alex Perullo

Keywords

Olympic games; sports; politics; economic development; cultural development;gentrification

Abstract

While the Olympics desire to remake its host communities through economic and housing reform to the benefit of local people, its housing legacy does not adequately serve the intended communities. By using a case study approach, the London 2012 Olympic Games was analyzed through a provisional codebook created based off of academic research on the concept of legacy and the Olympics. In this analysis, the London 2012 Games were found as not serving the needs of the local population. While there is a strong commitment to creating a tangible, impactful legacy, a lack of government focus on delivering public goods like affordable housing, the strong power of business interests, and the move of powerful entities that is forcing out impoverished local people, are all evident through the Games’ selective housing legacy. Traits found in the London Games also appear in the Vancouver 2010 and Paris 2024 Olympics, making this a significant trend and can be applied to other city projects centered around sport.

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