Olympic Urbanism: Rome to Rio

Judith Grant Long's Olympic Urbanism examines the compatibility of Olympic requirements with host cities' long-term interests, finding mixed outcomes and highlighting the changing fortunes of global cities and the Modern Olympic Movement. It calls for more responsible leadership and guidelines to recalibrate infrastructure, reduce financial burdens, and guide better planning.

Format: Hardback
Publication date: 01 January 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Olympic Urbanism: Rome to Rio by Judith Grant Long explores the compatibility of the requirements of building for the Olympic Games with the long-term interests of host cities. Drawing on extensive research in former host cities from Rome 1960 to Rio de Janeiro 2016, Long assesses claims that the Olympic Games serve as a catalyst for urban development by comparing the aspirations revealed in host city bid packages with the actual outcomes evident in post-game use of sports venues, athletes and media villages, ceremonial parks, and the transportation and other infrastructure built to accommodate the games. The analysis reveals that urban outcomes have been both better and worse than commonly understood, and points to the changing fortunes of global cities and the evolving business model of the Modern Olympic Movement as key factors in a story that challenges the concept of Olympic legacy and recent efforts to right-size the games. Long calls for more responsible leadership on urban issues from both host cities and the International Olympic Committee and provides guidelines to recalibrate the scale of Olympic infrastructure, reduce the financial burdens placed upon host cities, and guide better planning for the Olympic Games as well as other sports mega-events.

ISBN-13: 9781138667150