Urban regeneration

Discuss the role of sport and recreation in regeneration strategies of urban areas.

Who benefits from hosting an international sporting event?

Consider the meaning of "benefit" in its broadest context, to include the type of benefit, its extent, and the
beneficiaries. The means considering:

Benefit Type - which might be economic, environmental or social

Extent - The area affected, which might be the country, region, city or local area
The People - Those who stand to lose and gain from the development.
Time - These benefits may be short, medium or long term.

You are going to apply these theories to the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic Games using the
following website to help you.

http://www.london2012.com/making-it-happen/index.php

1.Sustainability
London believe that for 2012 sustainable is far more than just being green. They are more worried about
the way they plan, build, work, buy, the way everyone plays, socialise and travel.

Sustainability was embedded in the bid for the 2012 Games. They are committed to:
- use venues already existing in the UK where possible;
- only make permanent structures that will have a long-term use after the Games;
- build temporary structures for everything else.

Sustainable Plan focuses on:

- Climate Change, minimising greenhouse gases
- Waste, minimising waste at every stage of the project
- Biodiversity, Minimising the impact of the games on the wildlife and their habitats
- Inclusion, Promoting access for all and celebrating the diversity of London and the UK, creating new
employment, training and business opportunities.
- Healthy Living, Inspiring people across the country to take up sport and develop active, healthy and
sustainable lifestyles

Want to use the games as a change for the living quality in east london and encourage more sustainable
living across the UK.

2.Transport

Docklands Light Railway (DLR Network)

An investment of around 80m to the DLR network. This renewed system will be an excellent link
between the Game Venues such as the Olympic park. It will also help link large parts of East London
that have lacked good transport links.

Passengers already benefit from:

22 new railcars which will boot capacity by 50%.

A new line extension between King George V and Woolwich Arsenal station.

A new line extension from Canning town to Stratford International Station is in progress (below the river
Thames - 2.6km). There are two new overground stations at this location, they are also renewing the
already built overground stations and adapting them to the DLR.

All of the stations are step free meaning that they are a great option for people with disabilities. All
carriages are wide to allow and easy movement within.

Other facts:

Carries 67 million passengers each year and is expected to transport 100 million in 2012
The total length of the DLR by 2012 will have increased by 25%.
During the games there will be 27 trains per hour.
On the first week of the Olympic Games 500 000 people are expected to be using the DLR.

Walking and Cycling

The London 2012 Games want to encourage people to walk and cycle to and from the games to ensure
that when one travels they do so healthily and sustainably. Ultimately, they want the environment to be
kept clean, tidy and clear, and avoid the inevitable traffic and car park spaces needed. They have started
to create a network of walking and cycling paths that link different parts of London to the Olympic Park
and other venues. Thousands of spectators will come to the games and they believe that if this is
encouraged, it will benefit them and be enjoyable and a useful travel option. There are 8 main routes and
River Zone venues that are being enhanced:

Lea Valley North routes to the north of the Olympic Park through the Lee Valley Regional Park

Epping Forest a new route from the north-east of the Olympic Park through Wanstead and Epping
Forest

Elevated Greenway follows the route of the northern outfall sewer east from the Olympic Park to
Beckton

Lower Lea and The Royal Docks from the south of the Olympic Park to the Isle of Dogs, and on
to Maritime Greenwich and other River Zone venues via the Thames Path

Limehouse Cut from Limehouse Basin to the Olympic Park along the Limehouse Cut

Victoria Park and Stepney connects the Olympic Park to Islington and Limehouse Basin along the
Regents and Hertford Union Canals

Hackney Parks connects green spaces in Hackney from Finsbury Park to the western entrance of
the Olympic Park

Greenwich follows the route of the Thames Path connecting Maritime Greenwich with the North
Greenwich Peninsular and Woolwich.

Problems

However, to construct these routes, it will be necessary to change the existing paths within and next to the
path due to its construction. They plan to keep these closures to a minimum and will update people
online.

Temple Mills Lane is one of the main paths for large construction vehicles travelling to the Olympic park
and village and some areas of the Stratford City development, which has resulted in a road which is too
narrow for pedestrians and cyclists to use safely. Therefore the London Boroughs of Newham and
Waltham Forest have closed a section of Temple Mills Lane to the north of the Olympic Park to
pedestrians and cyclists, and a detour via Leyton High Road and Ruckholt Road has been put in place.
However, the alternate route adds about 400m to the journey.
Stratford Regional Station
Stratford is already a busy east London interchange, investing more than 100m in the station to boost its
capacity and make it easier for everyone to use.

The improvements will support growing local community long after the games. The numbers each
morning, estimated to by double by 2016 83,000 passengers.

Improvements to the station include:

- New lifts and stair cases
- Wider, longer and clearer platforms
- A new westbound Central Line platform
- A second upper - level entrance
- A reopened subway

Some of the work is nearly complete such as:

- new lifts
- longer platforms
and is already benefiting the passengers. The rest of the improvements are due to be finished by the end
of 2010.
Providing a better station for local residents and passengers almost 2 years before the games start.

3.Infrastructure

Energy Centre
The Energy Centre, located in the west of the Olympic Park, will support London 2012s commitment to
use renewable and energy-efficient technology.

The Energy Centre will supply all the necessary power, heating and cooling across the Olympic Park for
the 2012 Games but also for the new buildings and communities that will be developed in the area after
2012.

The Energy Centre has a biomass boiler that uses woodchip as fuel to generate heat, and a natural gas
powered Combined Cooling, Heat and Power plant (CCHP).

The Energy Centre is specifically designed to be sustainable and flexible, allowing future
technologies to be used with the Centre.

During the development old buildings will be preserved, for example the existing mill buildings of
historical interest at Kings Yard will be renovated and reused as part of the project.

The innovative methods used in the Energy Centre will have environmental and economic benefits.
The biomass technologies will create energy which will reduce carbon emissions.

Furthermore, another Energy Centre is also being built in the Stratford City development, to provide the
power, heat and cooling for this development.

3b) Primary Substation

The Primary Substation (part of a wider utilities network of gas, water, electricity, telecommunications
and sewage) is located alongside the Energy Centre in Kings Yard, in the west of he Olympic Park. It
provides essential infrastructure for the Park and the surrounding area before, during and after the
Games.
In October 2009, the Primary Substation became the first building to be completed on the Park. Ahead of
the Games it will support contractors building the venues on the Park, beginning with the Olympic
Stadium in spring 2010 reducing the need for temporary generators.

The substation is designed, constructed, owned and operated by EDF Energy through Lea Valley Utilities.

4.Legacy after the games

After the Games the Olympic Park will be transformed into one of the largest urban parks created in
Europe for more than 150 years.
The new parks will be connected to the tidal Thames estuary to the south and the hertforshire countryside
to the north. The canals and the waterways of the river Lea will be widened and cleaned and the natural
floodplains of the area will be restored, creating a new wetland habiitat for the widelife.
A park is going to planted with native species, this will allow for wildlife to have a home within the city.
The stadiums will be adapted for use by sports clubs and the local community. New playing fields will sit
along side these facilities again these will be adapted for community use. The olympic villiage will be
converted into homes, for key workers such as teachers and nurses. There will be further housing built
with the Olympic Park site after the games. Riverside housing, shops and restaurants will provide new
amenities for the local community.
The transport in the area will also be improved with an extension to the Docklands Light Railway,
increasing the capacity on the jubilee line and the upgrade of the Stratford Regional Station.
There will also be a wealth of benefits to the wider community, such as cross-city transport improvements
in London, more training and job opportunities for the UK and the chance for a vast array of businesses to
be involved.
The Games will leave a key legacy of national benefits in culture, sport, volunteering, business and
tourism.

Thousands of new jobs will be created and training opportunities will be created for local people.
Additional Information
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/london_2012/4025027.stm

Exam Style Question:

Examine to what extent an international sporting event has brought about positive and negative changes
to a named urban area. You should consider the effects in terms of social, economic and environmental.
(10)