Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics
Atlanta, host of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, may not be the image many had in mind of an Olympic city. Because it is a region dominated by the car, leapfrog development, sprawling edge cities and low-density housing, it has been called “Los Angeles East”, “party animal of growth” and a “poster child for sprawl”. It is now the third largest urban region in the country, with the ninth largest population. After ten years of explosive growth, it has added one million new residents and eight new counties (for a total of 28) to its MSA. The region is now plagued by some of the worst congestion and air pollution problems in the country.
Atlanta’s planners faced the task of accommodating the sudden influx of millions of people over a short time period, requiring them to coordinate the travel behavior of 7.5 million spectators, 100,000 members directly associated with the Olympics (athletes, sponsors and volunteers), 2.8 million locals and the unpredictable number of non ticket holders within and around a three-mile radius of the financial district, nicknamed the “Olympic Ring”.
Planners devised an extensive multi-modal system of park and ride lots, buses, light rail and pedestrian corridors that would ferry visitors from as far as 60 miles out to the Olympic venues. Parking in downtown was limited to those directly associated with the Olympics. For those not taking public transport, much still needed to be done to prevent a total standstill on the roads. HOV lanes were built and downtown employees were educated on transportation demand strategies (TDM) and scare tactics on the horror of the congestion during the Olympics were even used to encourage people to travel during non-peak hours. The Olympic Transportation Information System (OTIS), a comprehensive computer database, predicted travel behavior for every hour over the 17 days of the games.
Besides acquiring brand new sports facilities, creating short-term economic stimulus and receiving international attention, what else did Atlanta hope to gain from the Olympics? From the mayor to realtors, many hoped that the games would spark revitalization of the downtown and many of the poor, predominantly black neighborhoods surrounding the Olympic Ring.
Everything built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG), from stadiums, to a downtown park, to new housing, was donated to the city after the games. The Olympic Stadium became the home of the Braves, the Olympic Village became dorms for the very first dorms for Georgia State University and the Centennial Olympic Park continued to serve local residents. There was the hope that many of these venues would serve as a catalyst for post-Olympic development. However, most of the surrounding neighborhoods and downtown received mixed results.
Plagued by poverty, a declining population, abandoned storefronts and a freeway that dissected the neighborhood, the neighborhood of Summerhill was one of many that hoped to gain from Olympics-inspired revitalization. The plans included hundreds of single-family and town homes, many of them designated for moderate-income families, public housing and streetscape improvements. However, the delivery of social services fell through the cracks and the development of affordable housing was difficult due to rising land values in response to Olympic-related demand.
Still Summerhill was a success story in comparison with other neighborhoods that the Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta (CODA) had developed comprehensive plans for. Unfortunately, CODA was separated from the city’s planning and housing departments, making coordination and efficiency a problem. Though the start date for the Olympics acted as a deadline for many projects, and therefore helped speed them along, once the Olympics were over, the urgency to complete projects dropped off. Finally, insufficient funds kept much of the redevelopment from coming to fruition.
The Olympics brought a lot of positive change to Atlanta, but
after the games left, it was obvious that not everything had changed the way
many hoped it would. The city concentrated on improving urban design, but
it ignored its social problems. Though much new housing was added near downtown,
it was built too far away to create the 24-hour downtown the city has hoped
for. And some believe that a major new office building, approved during the
hype of pre-Olympic preparation, has only added to the glut of office space.
The Olympics forced Atlanta to address its infrastructure problems, and it
did. Reduced air pollution for the duration of the games was a sign of its
success, but much remains to be done to permanently reduce congestion.
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