Geographies Of Oppression: A Critical Analysis Of The Negative Impacts Of Olympics - CEASEFIRE

Capital accumulation

Discuss about the Geographies Of Oppression.

The Olympics is a major sporting event that attracts global attention every four years. It qualifies as a mega event as it is hallmark in its presentation and aftermath.  It plays an important role in promotion of the city in which it was held. The event leaves behind legacies which are physical, social and economic which last for many years. Olympics also play a pivotal role in the marketing and promotion of urban areas and their development. There are positive as well as negative outcomes that are attendant with hosting the Olympics. An article published by CEASEFIRE (2012) by Ashok Kumar, paints a negative picture of the impacts of Olympics, citing several examples. According to Kumar (20120, the negative impacts tend to outweigh the positive outcomes. This discourse will critically analyze his article and giving points which support and oppose his suppositions.

Capital accumulation- One of the theories of migration is postulated by Standing Guy. The theory states that the level and size of migration is determined by the relative production of the society. Cities and urban areas attract immigration based on the nature of wealth, land ownership and the factors controlling production. As the city grows, it attracts people who with time, start to accumulate wealth. The immigrants initially settle on the periphery of the city, but eventually encroaches the nucleus of the city where production may be centered. Classes emerge due to the changing levels of income. As the erstwhile lower and middle class begin to increase and amass capital, this presents as a challenge to the owners of capital. The owners by implicit reference are the owners of the city or urban area.

In order to reclaim their original title of ownership, they have to find a causal factor that is legal and the Olympics presents as such an opportunity. Cities are generally divided into three sections: the wealthy and corporate elitist who own capital, the middle class who primary work as managers of the capital owned by the elitist, and the poor who are employed by capital as input resources. The Olympics allows for the owners of capital to reclaim land in the city which has low value and add value to it.  The poor and the land on which they live are considered as a factor of capital which can be put to different use. The land on which they live is therefore reclaimed back for use as capital in new ventures which bring maximum profit. Guy (2011), states that a new class of people referred to as the precariat is eventually born in this context.

Demographic expansion

Demographic expansion- Available data shows that about 75% of the global GDP is generated by cities. At the same time, growth in population has been shown to account for more than 52% of the GDP generated within cities. The remaining 42% was accounted for by rising per capita income in the years 2000-2012 9Unite Nations Human Settlement Programme 2005). As cities grow and reach the point of equilibrium, the population growth that accounted for a significant portion as a driver of GDP, begins to diminish. Most large cities are the plateau stage where they are not experiencing growth and this impacts the GDP they generate. To address this issue, new demographics are attracted to the city in order to compensate for the reduced growth in population. The new demographics who are attracted by city planners are capitalist and investors who will raise the capita income of such cities.

This demographic expansion seeks to drive out the current inhabitant who are consumers of capital and attract those who can produce capital. The new demographics that emerges is that of “producers and consumers” of capital. The new demography that is attracted requires land in which to settle and to set centers of production. Therefore the city planners re-engineer the demographic set up within cities as a way to continue generating wealth that impacts not only the city but the economy of the nation. The continued productivity ensures wealth for the whole country and this call for a new capitalist demography to expand within cities.  Therefore dispossessing some specific and targeted populations becomes necessary for the continued sustainability of the city and nation at large.

Entrepreneurialism in Urban Management-   The current reality that is experienced in most cities is that of the trend towards entrepreneurism in urban governance. The old models that were previously used to attract capital and investment are no longer as meaningful as they were. The use of tax baits, infrastructure provision and socio-cultural attraction have lost significance in the modern economy. Cities were managed in the years 1960-1980 based on a quasi socialist approach (Mason, Reuschke & Syrett 2016). Many cities depended on subsidies from the national government and the local tax revenues. They did not actively pursue capital within the parameters of being entrepreneurial. Dwindling support in terms of government grants and subsidies is increasingly changing the management approach of many cities. Cities are actively negotiating with multinationals in order to attract financial inflows. The Olympics is an effective tool in promoting the place information and enhancement is achieved through sports regeneration.

Entrepreneurialism in Urban Management

Many cities, especially in Western economies have experienced de-industrialization which has shifted capital and jobs to other urban areas. Detroit is the best example of a city that has experienced its glory as a manufacturing base and is now bankrupt 9Swilling 2016).  In order to avoid the potential repeat of such a scenario repeating itself, many cities have take to negotiating directly with multinational owners of capital. The new spatial reality in cities has produced new scales, such as the local community, metropolitan and central city. The city managers have to compete with other cities and urban areas for capital and jobs. In order to present a competitive advantage, cities form coalitions and alliances with the primary stakeholders who are the owners of capital (Lauermann & Vogelpohl 2017).The private owners of capital use their experiences in the private sector and leverage it at the city and urban level in order to attract capital. This is done with the view of preserving the city.

Economic impact- The cities which host the Olympics have been show to consistently fall into debt which takes years to repay. The Athens Olympics hosted in 2004 contributed to the economic deficit that negatively the country. It took Montreal more than 30 years to repay the debt that was attached to hosting the Olympics. The only people who benefit from this event are a small group of private interests who stand to gain financially (Streicher, Schmidt, Schreyer & Torgler 2017). They include the politically connected construction companies, investment bankers, construction unions and lawyers (Galbreath 2017).  In economic terms, there is the problem of principal and agent. The city and its inhabitants are not properly represented by the agent which is the Olympic organizing committee. The only people who are properly represented are the minority interest groups, while the larger populace is not.

The argument that this event benefits and stimulates the economy is a fallacy. What is the justification in terms of economic data? Even if a new transport network or rapid rail transit system is constructed, it is often overpriced. The normal checks and balances of tendering is normally ignored and this leads to inflating the cost of construction (Baade & Matheson 2016) A rail network that could be built at the cost of $1 million may end up being inflated four times the actual cost. The economic justification does not add up and is convoluted within the special interest groups (Chengli, Huai-Chun & Hsiou-Wei 2011). The forced displacement of persons within working class areas inflates real-estate prices, making the city relatively expensive to live in. The temporary financial windfall is offset by the rising cost of living which serves the interests of a minority and not all the city dwellers.

Social impact- The sanitization of cities does not address the underlying causal factors that contribute to the problem. The clean-up of cities of the homeless and prostitutes does not offer any meaningful solution, but rather temporary one (Kumar 2012).  The prostitutes and the homeless will ultimately go back to the streets after the games. A more meaningful outcome of the games would be to engage the homeless and prostitutes in the planning of the games. The homeless can be offered employment in construction while the prostitutes can be trained as hostesses to work in the Olympic villages. The skills they will have gained can thereafter be used to engage in meaningful living after the games. This is not the case and therefore the Olympics do not offer any positive social impact. 

The gentrification targets the poor ends within cities and robs the city of its cultural diversity (Pringle 2012).  The city ends up losing its heterogeneous appeal as the poor sections are displaced. The ideal of being the melting pot of different cultures is eroded when some stereotyped communities are disenfranchised and dislocated. This also leads to problems of increased awareness of ethnic and racial differences which ends in armed confrontation. The city residents who live in areas targeted for forced relocation may resist this exercise as was witnessed in the Rio World Cup. The games no linger represent the celebration of diversities in culture but represent cultural oppression. Chen, Qu & Spaans (2013), state that the dominant culture that is celebrated is that of the capitalist and wealthy elite, while the culture of the poor is swept under the carpet and closeted away. Therefore the Olympics help in disrupting the social dynamics of cities.

Infrastructural impacts- Most of the sites where the Olympics and other games are hosted are normally new sites that are developed from scratch. After the games are concluded, many remain unused as white elephants. The lack of usage leads to rapid deterioration as there is no maintenance (Rayner & Stewart 2016).  Most cities have no supplemental budget for maintenance and this contributes to most of them falling into dereliction. The sites stand unused as seen in the Olympic Parks in Rio, offering no value to the surrounding communities. One of the approaches that have been considered is to demolish one arena within the Park and build schools (USA Today 2017).This is a clear vindication that the hosting sites have no positive impact on the community. The costs of demolition and construction of schools attests to this fact. Thus the infrastructural impact is negative to the surrounding communities and the nation at large.

The hosting of the Olympics and other sporting events often result in the destruction of existing structures with historical significance and value. A good example was when Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympics, which resulted in the destruction of historic homes, temples and statues. Of significance was a Taoist temple that dated back over 680 years (Kelly 2013).  In anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a hotel with historical value is slated for demolition 9Fifield 2015).  The Okura Hotel in Tokyo hosted various US presidents when they visited the city in the 1960’s. Despite this historical importance, it is planned to be torn down to pave way for two hotels. Thus the hosting Olympics bring with it the problem of infrastructure demolition whose historical value is lost and cannot be replaced.

Conclusion

The importance of hosting the Olympics cannot be gainsaid. The debate about its advantages and disadvantages draws support from varied stakeholders and interest groups. It has been shown to force displacement of certain populations in the effort to sanitize the venues where it is held. The often postulated points of economic stimulation are short lived and are offset by the resulting inflation. Historic sites have often been demolished in the process of building the new hosting sites. The hosting cities are left saddled with debts which take years to pay. From the above points, the points that are supportive of the article seem to outweigh those posited against it. It is clear that when Olympics are hosted, the resultant impact is to create geographies of oppression, in which the cultural and economic minority are disenfranchised.

References

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