A Case Study on the London 2012 Olympicsand its effect on the growth boroughs of London.
We focused on the 6 London growth boroughs, which were targetted by the Olympics organising comittee and attempted to determine if these have been revitalised by hosting the games. The approach we took was to investigate:
- economy and business
- housing
- dining (restaurants, bars, pubs, takeaway food stands)
- entertainment (museums)
- transport
We analysed and contrasted the percent growth of all boroughs in the years from when the bid was placed for the Olympics and during the Olympics.
We have shown evidence that suggests a correlation between infrastructure investment for the London 2012 Olympics and revitalization of East London boroughs. This evidence is observed through multiple indicators, such as growth in the mean house prices and the increased use of transportation links in the area.
We observe the number of active enterprises. In particular, the number of active enterprises in the borough Newham (where Stratford station is located) nearly tripled, with other growth boroughs showing remarkable developments as well.
We observe significant change in average house prices in the host boroughs. Newham and Waltham Forest both show growth multipliers of 1.91. This indicates that house prices nearly doubled over the period analysed.
There is a general downward trend of the number pubs and bars around London, including most of the East London boroughs with the exception of Hackney. Hackney has seen a significant growth since 2011 and continues to grow in 2017, having a larger growth multiplier than any of the other London boroughs.
In the summer of 2012, almost all London museums show a decrease in the number of visitors, as most tourists were attending the Olympics instead of visiting museums. Post 2012 Olympics, we notice that almost all museums show a slight increase in the number of visitors. In East London, The Royal Museum of Greenwich saw an increase in the number of visits in July-September in 2013, compared to 2011 and 2012.
Stratford joins King’s Cross, Victoria, and Oxford Circus, as one of themost frequented stations on weekends, and ranks in the top 5% for most enteredstations on an average weekday across all London underground stations, post 2011.
We observe a spike in the number of journeys taken via the DLR in the summer of 2012, with a continuous upward trend throughout the next few years. In fact, the growth is the most significant, as we observe the growth multiplier of each transport type.
We have shown evidence that suggests a correlation between infrastructure investment for the London 2012 Olympics and revitalization of East London boroughs. This evidence is observed through multiple indicators, such as growth in the mean house prices and the increased use of transportation links in the area.
More of our findings in the report file.