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Abstract
This article reviews recent scholarship on the urban politics of mega-events. Mega-events have long been promoted as drivers of urban development, based on their potential to generate beneficial legacies for host cities. Yet the mega-event industry is increasingly struggling to find cities willing to host. Political arguments that promote mega-events to host cities include narratives about mega-event legacy—the potential for events to generate long-term benefits—and mega-event leveraging—the idea that cities can strategically link event planning to other policy agendas. In contrast, the apparent decline in interest among potential host cities stems from two political shifts: skepticism toward the promises made by boosters, and the emergence of new kinds of protest movements. The article analyzes an example of largely successful opposition to mega-events, and evaluates parallels between the politics of mega-events and those of other urban megaprojects.
Contributor Notes
JOHN LAUERMANN is Assistant Professor of Geography at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. He is an urban geographer interested in the planning and impacts of urban megaprojects. His recent writing has appeared in Progress in Human Geography, Journal of the American Planning Association, Antipode, and Urban Studies. Email: jlauermann@mec.cuny.edu