Olympic Villages and Large-scale Urban Development: Crises of Capitalism,Deficits of Democracy?

Abstract

Mega-events like the Olympic Games are widely regarded as key opportunities for cities to accelerate large-scale urban development projects through the construction of Olympic Villages. However, in the current global financial climate, these debt-financed urban renewal strategies are not without significant risk for both public and private partners. This article examines how, as a result of the 2008 economic crisis and a number of undisclosed local political commitments, Vancouver inherited the entire responsibility for the construction of the 2010 Winter Olympic Village. In turn, I raise some political questions about the democratic limitations of the entrepreneurial urban policy-making context and the disproportionate transfer of financial risk associated with these developments to the public sector. Finally, I draw parallels between the experiences of Vancouver and the relatively successful public-private partnership for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and the recent government bailout of the Olympic Village development in London.