Beyond the sporting legacy

10/08/2012  -  11.02

Chris Williams, Head of the Built Environment department

The essence of the legacy of the Olympics is sport; the success of the Games themselves, the motivation and inspiration caused by successful medal winners and the encouragement to participate in sport by the people of the host country.

There is another legacy though which is the physical legacy produced by the structures and infrastructure development that the successful bid has facilitated.

New initiatives and programmes are creating sustainable social, economic and sporting legacies as well as providing a range of venues for successful games.

Long after the games are over, the Olympic Park – to be renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – will become a fantastic new focal point for the capital.

The Games have been the focus for the regeneration of a huge area of London which had been disused for decades and suffered years from neglect. New parklands will join the communities surrounding the Park, which for years have been divided by waterways, roads and railways lines.

The Olympic and Paralympic accommodation will be converted into homes, half of which will be affordable housing.

Along with a new educational campus, a community health centre and new developments elsewhere within the Park, the Village – to be known as East Village – will form a whole new community in this part of east London.