Development of Stratford Because of the Olympics Essay

The 2012 Olympics were held in Stratford in the East of London, many of the events took place here. The Olympic park covered an area of 500 acres which features the new built Olympic stadium, the London aquatics centre, the basketball arena, the London velopark and the riverbank arena. Boxing, fencing, judo, table tennis etc. was in the river zone which is located both sides of the River Thames in the Thames gateway area. The central zone which includes venues such as the Wembley stadium (where the finals of football competitions took place) also the Wembley Arena (Badminton) and Wimbledon (Tennis), covered most of central and West London. Stratford was chosen because the London bid team persuaded the 10c that this part of East London was in need of regeneration. Stratford was also chosen because the bid also proved that the area had potential, Javelin trains would take only 7 minutes from London and also the rivers in the area could make the Olympic park look beautiful. Also alongside the old network of river and canals there was plenty of room for new development. This has been one of the most compact Olympic parks – only about 2  ½ square kilometres. Economic: Development will transform rundown rail lands into major shopping and business location. 120 shops and cafes. Environmental: Olympic village will be converted into permanent homes.  The development will attract homes, businesses and visitors because it will look improved and welcoming. Wide variety of open space.  Visionary urban design, architecture and transport projects. The Stratford area will be transformed from a derelict filthy city into a clean, modern city. The regeneration of Stratford will help it be noticed and it will be transformed into a totally new place. The place and people will be noticed in a different and better way. Stratford has been improved in a great way because in the long term massive, new sporting facilities have been built which will attract people as it is a legacy of the games. Also in the long term, old houses have been knocked down and re-built making Stratford look more modern and looked after. Another reason as to why Stratford has been improved is because of more jobs that have been created which will attract more people to the area and make it well known. Another benefit and improvement is that the Olympic park ‘largest Urban Park in Europe for 50 years’ will create a better image for London and East End. Increased participation in sport for young people has been increased making East London and London look like a great healthy place possibly persuading adults to live in London with their children so their children have a healthier and more active life. One of the improvements I have mentioned (old houses being knocked down and new ones being built) has been classed as a social issue because of complaints saying it will change the socio economic structure and the geography of Stratford. Some residents have been offended negatively from the development of Stratford as almost  £9.3 billion has been spent on the games with three quarters of it earmarked for regeneration and they say it is hard to see where the money has gone. This suggests to us that their area has been left and not improved leaving it as it is was and many other areas have been left as they are too. A positive impact on the residents is that their area is going to become well known because of the Olympics and also many more new modern homes and jobs are being created and becoming available. More positive reasons that have affected the residents are that they have reduced untidiness by removing any unnecessary railings, posts, bins and benches. Also they have improved the quality of open spaces and they have planted trees in groups along the road and introduce greenery too make the traffic seem less dominating.