Mega event “mobility legacy” framework

The defining of “legacies” under mega events have evolved over the years, perceived via a multitude of visual matrixes and indicators. Research focused on the venues created due to the event or reutilization of sites, as well as critical overviews on the aftermaths spanning over several years after the execution stage of an event; from socio-political imbalances to environmental externalities. The purpose of this thesis is to take a similar approach but change the urban focus to short term, rapidly induced ambitious “mobility projects”. All finished in time for the 2010& 2015 Expo along with current 2022 World Cup and see how the overall spatial surroundings changed from prior to the construction, during the construction and operation stage. Logically all these changes and transformations can very well be considered “legacies”, and rather than just “transport”, it can be interpreted as mobility. As it focuses on not just the infrastructure but the dynamic environment which constitutes all sorts of changes that influence a citizen’s or tourists’ daily mobility. By observing these changes, the potential is to understand the planning complexities and priorities amongst the chosen cities and see the focalizing themes as well as its degree of importance when looking at overall resiliency of a city. Method of analysis was cyclically implemented through spatial and informational analysis. Spatial collection was observed through satellite accurate maps in specific points in time using google earth pro and google maps street view around metro station entry points for lines developed explicitly after winning the bid for the mega event type to create a framework construction. Informational processing will involve document analysis extrapolated from relevant and highly representative documents with specific codes to find patterns and significant thematic. The main findings showed Shanghai great urban restructuring at a time of great development, whereas Milan was more geared towards revitalization and city branding, including overlaps of goals and agendas between the two cities. Doha is still undergoing changes and showed to incorporate the other two cities’ complexities but remaining ambiguous in its urban output. Conclusively mobility projects under mega event contexts, show untapped potential for research under assessing resiliency, how spaces and services undergo changes as well as the general impacts that stem from it. As an urban planner this can be considered an effective way of observing policies and planning from short term rapid based development with long term implications via adaptive analysis.