The Reality of Legacy: Urban Transformation and the Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympic Games

The Reality of Legacy: Urban Transformation & the Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympic Games is an academic Master thesis which explores the reality of the urban regeneration of East London as spurred by the 2012 Games. The dichotomous concept of Olympic legacy is evaluated from its linguistic beginnings at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games to its centrality at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The overarching research question is: What is the reality of Olympic Legacy? This is supported by two further research questions. Firstly, it is asked how, as a conceptually broad, yet central tenant of the Olympics, how has legacy been exhibited in past Olympic Games? Thus, Section I is a qualitative analysis of the legacy of five landmark Olympic Games: Montreal, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Atlanta and Athens. The conclusion of Section I is that the historical evolution of legacy has been centred on its malleability and it is now inextricability intertwined with the modern Olympics; one cannot exist without the other, never more the case than with London 2012. Upon this rich foundation, rests the second research question: did the regeneration of Stratford as part of the London 2012 Olympic lead to direct benefit of the community as reflected through a change in local house prices? Section II thereby presents a quantitative study focusing specifically on the real estate market of the London Borough of Newham. A hedonic pricing model is built, using a range of house- and neighbourhood- characteristics for transactions between 2007 and 2015. It is concluded that there is a statistically significant proximity premium relating to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park extending to approximately 3km from the centre of the Park. Furthermore, there is evidence of negative externalities within the immediate proximity of the park and a positive influence on transaction prices as a result of the April 2014 reopening. The key findings of the study are discussed before the various limitations of the methodology employed are acknowledged. Lastly, the scope for further study is explored, particularly the need for retesting within a different spatial context in order to ensure the credibility of the statistical methods employed.