Transport Legacy of the Olympic Games, 1992–2012

Abstract

Legacy planning in preparation for the Olympic Games has significantly grown in importance for host cities and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) because of wasteful investments for some previous Games. Since the late 1990s, the IOC has actively sought to prevent such overspending through a Transfer of Knowledge program, in which valuable lessons are passed from one host city to the next. This paper analyzes the transport legacies of the Olympic Games, using original archive material and interviews with key decision-makers in five cities. While previous research into the effects of the Olympic Games on host cities suggests that infrastructural legacies are place-specific, the main argument of this paper is that the transport legacies of the Olympic Games are much more uniform across the host cities. Even though host cities' transport systems were intrinsically different pre-Olympics, the author finds that similar features of Olympic transport systems, developed through the Transfer of Knowledge program, produced similar legacies. In explaining the creation of transport legacies through Olympics-motivated drivers, the author suggests the Olympics might trigger similar transport developments in future host cities. Therefore, city planners can use Olympic transport features as powerful catalysts to accelerate their urban and transport plans.

Impact of International Sporting Events on the Economy: Foreign Experience

“…Вслед за организаторами мероприятий, представителями политической элиты разных уровней, подрядчиков смысловые инвестиции в мегасобытия стали вкладывать те, кто напрямую не заинтересован в мегасобытии: исследователи, представители различных фондов, которые в своих исследованиях, отчетах, повседневной риторике подчеркивают положительное влияние мегасобытий на динамику человеческого развития. Ученые также усилили утверждения о каталитической функции мегасобытий для городского развития, сославшись на такие выгоды, как экономический рост, инфраструктурное обеспечение, повышение качества жизни и улучшение имиджа [30,44].…”

Mega-events and the Preservation of Urban Heritage: Literature Gaps, Potential Overlaps, and a Call for Further Research

“…Additionally, transport networks and hubs also serve as key investments within the infrastructure of events (Bovy 2006). These investments are directly linked to the mass numbers of visitors the event intends to attract but also serve larger ambitions of the legacy of these events (Kassens-Noor 2012, 2013). The IOC has also included transportation as one of the areas of concern in the transfer of knowledge program, which facilitates learning between cities hosting the Olympics (Bovy 2008; Kassens-Noor 2013).…”

“Festivalisation” of Urban Governance in South African Cities: Framing the Urban Social Sustainability of Mega-Event Driven Development from Below

“…Moving beyond this, the work by Kassens-Noor [30] forms the backdrop against which this article with its local-specific cases is interconnected with the larger debate on urban governance and mega-event driven development. Informed by empirical examples of infrastructure planning and development, the author highlights the crucial role of international actors such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as stakeholders in the planning process of mega-events, bringing along the -institutional power and necessary tools to influence the host cities' urban planning process‖.…”