London 2012: Olympic Risk, Risk Management, and Olymponomics
Will Jennings
Published in August 2008 in the John Liner Review, 22(2): 39-45.

"In this special issue of CLRNews we have tried to document the construction involved for different Olympic Games, the social and employment issues and problems raised and the longer-lasting effects."

Documents relating to the handing over of public parkland at Leyton Marsh by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority for an Olympic Games-time Basketball training venue.

Documents are also being archived at saveleytonmarsh.wordpress.com

The Spectacular Construction of an Olympic Metropolis
Anne-Marie Broudehoux
University of Quebec, Montreal

ABSTRACT: This article presents a critical review of Beijing’s Olympic redevelopment, and of the social, economic, and political impacts of hosting mega events as a means of urban image construction. Through an analysis of Olympic projects, city marketing initiatives, and their impact on the city’s material and cultural landscape, this article postulates that Beijing’s spatial restructuring and image construction program played an important role in exacerbating the profound inequalities that have come to epitomize China’s transition to capitalism within an autocratic political system. Acting as a developmental engine legitimating large-scale urban transformations, the Olympics have helped concentrate economic and political power in the hands of a coalition of government leaders and private investors and allowed their interests to dominate the planning agenda. Beijing’s spectacular Olympic preparations have in many ways acted as a propaganda tool and an instrument of pacification to divert popular attention from the shortcomings of China’s rapid economic transformation, accompanied by rampant land speculation, corruption, and uneven development.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Impacts and Legacy Evaluation Framework Final Report, 2009

A report on the impacts of the Olympic Games and Paralympics on host cities

Dr Mary Smith
London East Research Institute Working Papers
December 2008

OPLC's 'Alternative North-West Parklands and Velopark' presentation of 08/07/2011.

This is a large PDF file (13Mb)
Downl

Carolina del Olmo Universidad Complutense Sept 2004

Some years before filming Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore directed and starred in the film Roger and Me. In this film, Moore captures the consequences of the closure of a General Motors plant in his home town, Flint, Michigan. The plant closed down and moved in search of lower labour costs, leaving behind a landscape of unemployment and despair. However, Moore portrays this event in a comedic light. In fact, the most hilarious part of the film is seen when the city council of Flint decides to implement some measures to solve the population’s problems, with hopes that these measures convert Flint into a tourist destination. The urban government built an automotive theme park, a colossal hotel and a gigantic shopping mall, but obviously the plan failed in a few months and the new installations closed down. Strangely, by the implementation of these measures, the city council aimed to boost the spirit of the people, to give them back their self-confidence. Unfortunately, these plans are not as unique as they may seem. If we read about the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, we discover that one of its majorly recognized achievements was the increase of its citizen´s pride in themselves and their city and the improvement of the image that the inhabitants had on their home town. In fact, this idea is a basic ingredient of the dominant ideology around mega-events.