As the one-year anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games approaches, University of British Columbia experts are ready to comment on social, economic and environmental impacts of the major international event.
Rob VanWynsberghe, UBC Olympic Games Impact Study (OGI)
604.822.3580, rvanwyns@interchange.ubc.ca, www.ogi-ubc.ca
- Social, economic and environmental impacts of the Games
- Two of four OGI reports have been completed. Two more reports are scheduled for late spring 2011 and 2013
“The 2010 Olympics gave Vancouver and Canada a big boost and provided a reason to come together and celebrate,” says VanWynsberghe. “Real legacies take a long time to develop and our research seeks to determine these long-term Games impacts.”
Laura Moss, Chair, Canadian Studies
604.822.4226, mossl@interchange.ubc.ca
- The psychic legacies of the 2010 Games: patriotism, international perceptions of Canada, uniqueness of 2010 Games from other Canadian Olympics, why Canada embraced the Vancouver Games
“One psychic legacy of the Games is the collective memory of Canadians coming together on an unprecedented scale, expressing their patriotism loudly and confidently,” says Moss. “During the Games, the world witnessed a nation that differed from our stereotypes, but in many ways this was simply their perception of Canada catching up to our own.”
Tsur Sommerville, Sauder School of Business
604.822.8343, tsur.somerville@sauder.ubc.ca
- Impacts on real estate, urban economics
- Games’ impact on house prices and construction employment in the years leading up to and after the Olympics in host cities
“We did not find support for the argument of host city backers that the Olympics delivers positive economic benefits, nor of the arguments made by opponents that there is some post-Olympic bust,” says Sommerville. “Our results conclusively demonstrate that while construction employment dramatically increases in the period prior to the Games, house prices are the same as they would be in the absence of the Games.”
James Brander, Sauder School of Business
604.822.8483, james.brander@sauder.ubc.ca
- Economic impacts, business, trade, and sustainability
Tarek Sayed, Faculty of Applied Science, Civil Engineering Dept.
604.822.4379, stayed@civil.ubc.ca
- Sayed’s study of Games’ pedestrian and traffic patterns found that Metro Vancouver achieved a record for sustainable travel
“Our findings provide important insights into transportation planning and behaviour and will be helpful for other agencies planning large-scale events in Vancouver and the Metro region.”
James Tansey, Sauder School of Business
james.tansey@ubc.ca
- Sustainability of the Games
- Tansey helped track and reduce the Games’ carbon footprint
David Anderson, Faculty of Education
604.822.2086, david.anderson@ubc.ca
- Long-term memories as legacies of major international events, visitor experiences
“How have citizens of the city changed one year later? There is a very strange sense of it being back to the pre-games status-quo,” says Anderson. “I suspect what was unleashed in terms of our heightened willingness to engage with our fellow citizens, in the ways we did a year ago, is not gone. We just need an excuse to reignite it.”
Patrick Condon, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
604.822.9291/604.737.4209, patrick.condon@ubc.ca
- Transportation, city planning, sustainability
Joe Weiler, UBC Olympic Studies Research Team
604.822.4246, 604.209.3904, weiler@law.ubc.ca
- 2010 sustainability legacies, Games-related green business development in Vancouver, Aboriginal inclusion, Richmond as a venue city
Arun Mohan, UBC Olympic Studies Research Team
604.822.2048, arunmohan1@hotmail.com
- Mohan, who worked for the CTV Broadcast Consortium, is among the more than 6,000 UBC students who participated in the Games in paid or volunteer positions
“Whenever I think back to February 2010, when the eyes of our country and world were transfixed on our city, I am filled with pride for playing a small part in helping stage a successful Winter Olympics in Vancouver,” says Mohan. “The atmosphere was electric, and it was really exciting to be in the middle of the action.”