ABSTRACT
For more than three decades East London has been at the centre of policy debates and initiatives on urban regeneration. These have raised a number of questions concerning what characterises successful regeneration: Who should pay for it? How we should we evaluate it? Who should benefit? Whilst almost every UK urban initiative has been tested in East London, three schemes stand out in particular for their claims to bring benefits to the immediate area and beyond; London Docklands, the Thames Gateway project and London 2012. While most analysis of the potential impact of the London 2012 Games takes as its starting point experiences in other Olympic cities, it will be argued here that it is equally important to explore other urban regeneration projects that have taken place or are underway in East London. This chapter, drawing on evidence from these other projects, considers alternative scenarios concerning the housing legacy of London 2012.
