Playing Host: A Sustainability Analysis of Urban Planning Strategies in Summer Olympic Host Cities

Abstract

The Olympic Games, generally considered the greatest two weeks in sports, are also the most impactful two weeks in urban planning and city-making. Hosting requires a set of highly specific architectural typologies that often have no clear use after the games. The number of bids for the Olympic Games has been steadily declining since the economic recession following the 2004 games in Athens, and smaller cities no longer see much opportunity, if any at all, to host the games. The goal of this thesis is to understand, through the lenses of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, how certain cities were able to create a lasting positive legacy from the games and how these strategies can be applied elsewhere. It analyzes Atlanta 1996 from the economic perspective, London 2012 from the social perspective, and Sydney 2000 from the environmental perspective, all in an effort to create a more sustainable urban planning strategy for future host cities and the Olympics as a whole. The conclusion of this thesis offers a set of eleven recommendations for the International Olympic Committee and for cities interested in bidding for future games in order to, hopefully, create more sustainable legacies for host cities and for the Olympic Games as an institution.