Transcript 2012 – Just a summer to remember? BOB DIGBY PRESIDENT, GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE APRIL 2013

2012 – Just a summer to
remember?
BOB DIGBY
PRESIDENT, GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION
GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE
APRIL 2013
A view from the Royal Box …
….. but also a great deal of geography!
Putting Geography to work
 Re-generating and transforming one of London’s
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poorest areas
Implementing sustainable principles into urban
regeneration – the ‘sustainable Games’
A celebration of London’s diversity – to create a
‘Games for the world’ in one city
Inspiring young people to take part in sport
Creating a legacy which would last beyond 2012
The context of east London
Source of photos – Trevor Llewelyn
The context of east London
• Closure of London’s docks
& decline in the Lea Valley
• Deep-rooted deprivation &
low environmental quality
• Docklands regeneration
had failed to reduce
deprivation
And the vision ahead ……
Ken Livingstone photo : http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/20/globalradio.radio
The world’s first ‘Sustainable Games’
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Convergence: reducing disparity
Concept of an Olympic Park
based on Sydney’s 2000 ‘Green
Games’
Environmental remediation of
contaminated land
Broad ‘Green’ principles – the
Olympic Environmental
Guidelines developed by
Greenpeace (2000)
15 Sustainable principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Reduce Energy consumption
Develop public transport systems
Chemical-free refrigeration & air conditioning
Low impact building materials
Sustainable timber use
Habitat protection or expansion
Reduce air, water & soil pollution
Encourage water conservation
Improve indoor air quality (decoration, light &
ventilation)
10. Reduce consumption of natural resources
11. Waste avoidance & minimisation
12. Avoidance of Genetically Modified Organisms
13. Increase quality of life
14. Take account of cultural & historical context
15. Transparency & monitoring in the development
process
Source: http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/PageFiles/301173/guideline.pdf
The legacy of Athens 2004
Photo removed due
to copyright. You
can view the photo
by typing in the URL
after ‘Source’ below.
Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/the-2004-olympic-legacy-that-london-must-avoid-6868504.html
The legacy of Athens 2004
‘The diving pool .. is home to a flip-flop, plastic bags, & polystyrene cups’
Photo removed due
to copyright. You
can view the photo
by typing in the URL
after ‘Source’ below.
‘The velodrome is ghostly
quiet. Bird droppings
cover the seating, the
backs of which have also
been spray-painted with
graffiti’
‘Meanwhile, a vast Olympic Park … remains an abject wasteland. Three
Olympic stadia …. go to waste. The fencing venue is … a derelict hangar.’
Source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/the-2004-olympic-legacy-that-london-must-avoid-6868504.html
The legacy of Beijing 2008
“Besides exhibition matches, concerts and a winter
theme park, the Bird's Nest is barely used for
anything other than tourism.”
David Bond, BBC Sport blog
Photo courtesy of http://tripideas.org/beijing-olympic-stadium-china/
So what of London’s prospective legacy?
Promises of:
 A legacy use for every venue
 Environmental transformation
 Achieving high standards in sustainability
 Social housing
 Economic opportunity and multiplier
1 Environmental change
• A new Olympic Park along the
Lea Valley
• Soil remediation, creation of
wildlife habitats
Changing this …..
…into this
2 Social change – the Athletes’ Village
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•
2800 housing units built from sustainable materials
BREEAM rating ‘Excellent’
3 Economic change
Employment based around sport …
….. and technology
The International Media Centre
• 3000 technology and
media jobs?
• A new ‘Silicon Valley’?
Source of photo – Peter Price
A new Green Economy?
Regeneration
using sustainable
design criteria
London as a model for
future cities?
Timeline for the Olympic Park
1 January
2013
Renamed:
The Queen
Elizabeth
Olympic
Park
Easter 2013 / Summer 2014
The Orbit and southern Park open
Early summer 2013
First new residents move
into East Village
Summer 2013:
The Copper Box opens as a local
community leisure facility
Late 2013:
The Lea Valley Velopark
BMX track, mountain-bike
trail & road circuit open
Spring 2014
The Aquatic Centre opens as a local swimming baths
Summer 2015 onwards
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West Ham confirmed as tenants
2017 World Athletics Championships
UK Athletics flagship events
Summer Concerts – Live Nation
But – the first Premiership matches 2015?
2015 World Cup Rugby?
20/20 Cricket?
The legacy as a stimulus for further change ….
 2015-16: the first full year of events and activities (9
million visitors to the new Park?)
 2017: Crossrail opens at Stratford.
July – World Athletics Championships
 By 2030: five new residential neighbourhoods, with
over 8000 new homes
 A true ‘Re-branding’ of east London
Ripple effects on local
regeneration …
.. and gentrification
Source of photo – Jo Shave
Measuring success of the Games
How to assess?
 Greenpeace awarded Sydney 5 out of 10 for the 2000
Games, based on their own criteria
 Successful design of an Olympic Park
 Environmental design improvements considerable
 Improved public transport
Shortcomings:
 Shrouded in political secrecy
 The economics of the Games – sponsorship from CocaCola & McDonald’s
 Social issues ignored, particularly housing
WWF Assessment of the Athens 2004 Games
Criteria in which
Sydney – for the
most part – scored
especially well
Comparable Assessment of London’s 2012 Games
8.4 out of 10
London 2012 – some qualifiers
 Hard to assess overall impact – external ‘events’
 A time of great economic and social change – rapid
population growth in Newham accelerating demand
for housing
 Political change in London in 2008 – affordable
housing reduced from 3000 homes to 1400
 Like Sydney, social shortcomings blur the picture
So – was that it?
We achieved a few things …
We could do it – we could host the
Olympic and Paralympic Games
On time, under budget (-£377m) ,
and (probably) at a profit
Tourism:
• Handling large numbers for mega-events
• Impact on hotels & employment
London’s
transport
system
coped
Celebrating diversity: Geography at work
• Stories of migrants (Mo Farah) and family
ethnic diversity (Jess Ennis)
• Achievement by Paralympians
• Awareness of disability
• Affirmation of a sense of national pride
after three decades of intense globalisation
We gained some
new heroes
“Sydney was the first Paralympics to treat Paralympians as
equals. London was the first to treat them as heroes.”
Adam Hills ‘The Last Leg’, Channel 4
Source of photo: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/sep/01/paralympics-ellie-simmonds-defeats-rival
Not to mention a curriculum legacy
FSC ‘View Tube’ classroom
The Greenway
Questions for the future
• Duration of the Olympic ‘effect’? Will there be a similar
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experience to Sydney after 2000?
Investment & sport: ‘cherry picking’ where to invest?
Young people and participation in sport? (London’s
‘USP’)
Benefits for low-income communities?
How to define ‘sustainability’ – is there sufficient focus
on communities and convergence?
2012 didn’t solve everything
But in the words of Leonard Cohen …
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
From ‘Anthem’ (1992)
Notes regarding copyright
 Most photos in this presentation were taken by Bob
Digby; others with permission by Peter Price, Jo
Shave and Trevor Llewelyn
 Permission is given to use these in non-commercial
educational presentations
 To seek permission to use these in commercial
publications, please consult the Geographical
Association