Atlanta and the Olympics: The Case for Comprehensive Planning

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Creator
  • Eplan, Leon S.
    • Other Affiliation: Commissioner of Planning and Development, City of Atlanta, GA
Abstract
  • In a matter of a few weeks, the City of Atlanta will host the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. This will be only the fourth time since the modern Olympiad movement was launched that the event has been held in an American cit.y St. Louis held the competition in 1904, and Los Angeles was host in 1932 and 1984. Large-scale events such as the Olympics, world's fairs, and international exhibitions and festivals often have a lasting impact on a city. As such, they are of special interest to urban planners. For example, the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 significantly shaped the future of that city, as did gatherings in Seattle and St. Louis. On the other hand, Los Angeles has not been greatly affected by its two Olympic events. Atlanta determined at the outset that it would use the event to prepare itself for the roles it seeks to play in the 21st century. In a July 1992 publication entitled Atlanta 's Olympic Development Program, the city presented its program for preparing itself for the event to the meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Barcelona, spelling out the projects it would undertake set within a framework of its vision of a 21st century metropolis. 0ver the past four years, the city has endeavored to implement this program. Now, after years of feverish efforts, it is assured that when the Olympics end on August 4, Atlanta will be a significantly changed community. More importantly, the changes undertaken will direct the city towards its chosen future. The way Atlanta set out to use the Olympics to shape its future provides a rare opportunity for examining how the techniques and practices of urban planning can be applied to a mature city to successfully achieve a long-term vision.
Date of publication
DOI
Resource type
  • Article
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Journal title
  • Carolina Planning Journal
Journal volume
  • 21
Journal issue
  • 2
Page start
  • 16
Page end
  • 23
Language
  • English
Digital collection
  • Carolina Planning Journal

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