Dilemmas of Urban Transformation 20 Years After Athens 2024
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Olympics legacy, Mega-events, urban regeneration and city branding, spatial scale, Athens 2004Abstract
This paper examines the post-Games legacy of Olympic Cities (focusing on the case of Athens 2004), situating mega-events as catalysts for urban transformation. It interrogates motivations beyond economics—psychological factors and city identity—while debating whether bigger cities hold the advantage. Integrating temporal frameworks, it analyses opportunities: infrastructure, global positioning, community engagement, and city branding strategies. It balances these against dilemmas like overemphasis on flagship projects, sustainability challenges, and underutilised facilities. Drawing also on cases from Munich, Barcelona, London, and Paris, it examines the impact of scale on hosting capacity and civic identity. The analysis of Athens 2004 details planning decisions, infrastructure achievements, cost overruns, and varied legacies—sporting, social, urban, and economic. Post-games venue repurposing efforts highlight successes and failures in sustainability and community integration. The paper concludes by advocating (among others) integrated legacy planning, city branding, scalable processes, and prioritising civic pride and quality of life to maximise benefits and mitigate risks for future hosts.
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