Urban infrastructure in the framework of mega-event exceptionalism: Glasgow and the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the context of urgency-filled mega-event preparations, contested urban projects can be fast-tracked to completion in the name of event. This leads to deviations from the existing urban agenda and undermines democratic decision-making processes – all while having longer-term socio-economic and physical influences. Since its post-industrial transition Glasgow prioritized event-led urban regeneration. Parallel to the preparations of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, projects labeled as vital for this event were realized, including the previously contested 657-million-pound M74 motorway extension. This extension, heavily relying on legal and political exceptions, was presented as detrimental for the successful hosting of the event and promised to solve the city’s traffic problems. This article explores the exceptional powers of mega-events in the delivery of troubled urban infrastructure projects via a case study of the 2014 Games. It demonstrates role the event plays in enabling the government to mobilize discourses to finally realize the controversial M74 extension.