Is urban planning returning to the past in search of a sustainable future? Exploring the six Paris and London Olympic Games (1900–2024)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mega events are facing a disruption, despite their adaptative nature, in their continued 120-year growth in a context of environmental and energy crisis doubled by increased ethical and social expectations. We put forward the hypothesis, in the middle term, of a gradual disconnection between (1) mega events such as the Olympic Games and (2) a catalyst effect on urban regeneration and attractivity pursued by host cities; and over the long term, we explore a return to the past characterized by more modest and ‘sustainable’ Games. We first unveil how urban planning was implemented through the Olympic Games over the last 30 years to understand how Olympic urban mega projects have been increasingly questioned as risky and unsustainable and how IOC frameworks gradually adapted to articulate sustainability and legacy. Is it a return to the comparatively modest 1900, 1908, and 1924 and 1948 Olympics exemplified by the new quarters built after the failed 1992, 2008 and 2012 Paris bids? How do historiography and narratives compare Paris and London? Last, we analyse Paris 2024 as an example of disconnection between the Olympics and mega urban project, as included in an existing 30-year metropolitan project focusing limited new infrastructure on local needs.