Olympics and Housing: A Look into the Treatment of Underserved Populations Before and After the Games

Abstract

Every four years, the world unites for a friendly few weeks of international sports competition, the summer Olympics. A different city is given the honor of hosting this world wide, mega-event each time. Many years of preparation goes into each Olympics, from changes in transportation and technology to building of new housing structures, monuments, and venues. It is the perfect opportunity for cities to renew and revive themselves, both structurally and culturally, and most hope that the costs and changes in which they invest will have a positive, everlasting effect. However, what is often good for the city's population as a whole cripples those on the margins of society even further. These marginalized people include minority groups, low income workers, and the homeless. Often, host cities put so much effort into creating a perfect image of themselves, that they disregard how their actions affect impoverished populations, for example through the displacement of people in building of Olympic venues. My thesis investigates the question, "In regards to housing, do Olympic cities implement positive changes for all of its citizens, or are the needs of the marginalized populations ignored?" To answer the question, I will look at the efforts of three host cities, Barcelona, Atlanta, and Sydney. The question will be analyzed through four different viewpoints of housing; displacement of people in preparing for the games, the Olympic Village and its after use, treatment of homeless populations throughout the Olympic process, and finally affordability of housing in the city in response to the Olympics. My thesis will conclude with a brief look at the preparations going into the 2012 London Olympics, and will make recommendations as to how Olympics might better tackle the issue of housing and marginalized populations in the future.