What can the Olympics do for you? That’s the central question of Olympic Cities: City Agendas, Planning, and the World’s Games, 1896–2032, the fourth edition of an encyclopedic guide edited by John R. Gold and Margaret M. Gold. The book’s first edition was published in 2007, right as the challenges that had long plagued host cities—venue blight, displacement, bankruptcy—had come to a head, forcing the Olympic institution into an era of self-reflection. Over the next decade, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced rounds of reforms with a goal of staging more responsible, sustainable megaevents. Yet even with these supposed safeguards in place, the way the Games wield power and influence over our neighborhoods, streetscapes, and recreational facilities as they barge into a different city every two years still carries the…
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Landscape Architecture (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2025