ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complex relationship between the Olympics and urban regeneration. The chapter analyses commonly cited rhetoric that the Olympic Games assist regeneration by providing ‘catalysts’ and ‘flagship’ projects. Rather than trying to use the Games to stimulate urban regeneration, the chapter argues that the best outcomes are achieved when the Games are integrated within ongoing regeneration plans. Regeneration is often regarded as merely an objective or an intervention, but the analysis here considers the outcomes of Olympic regeneration – which means recognizing problematic legacies such as gentrification. Ultimately, the chapter highlights the need to move on from established approaches which privilege physical and economic regeneration, towards approaches that prioritize social regeneration and ecologically regenerative urbanism.
