Rethinking the Spatial Impact of the Olympics

Abstract

The amount and size of the Olympic facilities have outgrown the needs of host cities. most Olympic venues cannot be used after the event and maintenance is extremely expen- sive. Therefore cities cannot optimally benefit from the catalysing effect that mega-events, such as the Olympics, can have on host cities. An over-production of sport venues causes bad physical legacy. This research addresses the spatial impact of the Olympics and poses a hypothesis of de- centralisation. Can the spatial impact of the Olympics on a city be improved by decentraliz- ing the event in a regional setting? This document analyses the spatial organisa- tion and impact of the 6 latest Olympics (from Barcelona 1992 until London 2012). The Lon- don Olympics is also thoroughly analysed on the process of hosting the Olympics. All of this is concluded in a strategy formula- tion that poses how the spatial impact could be improved by decentralizing the Olympic organ- isation in a regional setting. This theoretical strategy is subsequently tested on a networked city region. The region chosen is the Øresund region between Denmark and Sweden. The reason for the implementation on this specific region comes from a comparative study between different European networked city region. It is concluded that from those re- gions, the Øresund region has the biggest de- veloping potential and could therefore benefit the most from hosting the Olympic Games. The Øresund region is analysed and a stra- tegic development vision is formulated that integrates the Olympics as kick-starter of the cities' and region's future development.