4 ms·

It may be a pragmatic approach but thats part of the issue in the Olympics in general - building a lot of stuff (on the public dime) that will likely never have

It may be a pragmatic approach but thats part of the issue in the Olympics in general - building a lot of stuff (on the public dime) that will likely never have a use again. We're "lucky" enough that we always need more prison space but a much better (and in the long term, more pragmatic) case would be to need less prisons by not incarcerating so many non-violent minor "criminals".

mstade 10y ago
Not disagreeing with you, but would like to offer a counter story. I personality live in what used to be an Olympic villag. Or, more accurately, was supposed to be the Olympic village in the bid for Stockholm as the host city of the 2004 summer olympics. Interestingly, just like the Rio olympics the theme was environmental sustainability. The bid failed, but they went ahead with the plans anyway, and now it's lauded as a major success in urban redevelopment, taking what used to be a run down harbor and factory area which had mostly turned into a really shady part of town, and making it a great place for people to live and work. An old waste dump is now repurposed as a ski slope, and even hosted the Ski World Cup is past winter. While not technically an Olympic development, the idea was always to build a village that could then serve as a new residential area, and goes to show that the olympics can very much be the necessary catalyst in getting major developments off the ground. If IOC wanted to, they could absolutely push for all sorts of change by forming host requirements thereafter. They may want to claim they're non-political, but I don't think that's even possible on the kind of scale they operate.
- mstade 10y ago
  Wow, such typo. That's what happens when you fat finger a reply on a phone, I guess. :o)
- wineisfine 10y ago
  This is just an example of smart Scandinavians being 3 steps ahead again. I wonder what'll happen with the Brazil built Olympic villages.
  - hardlianotion 10y ago
    Weren't some of the Brazilian Olympic Village reused from the London Olympics? This was going to be a big deal four years ago.
  - mstade 10y ago
    Let's be honest, we do some dumb shit too, just like everyone else. But this particular story I like very much. It was laughed at by a lot of people before the development began, it was too expensive, nobody would like it, the design was terrible etc.; and now it's a highly sought after area to live in Stockholm. I'm quite proud of my neighborhood, I'm sure you can tell. I've lived there for over nine years as well, so I've seen the developments up close all this time, and it's been an amazing transformation! When I first moved in, it was mostly a construction area. Thankfully we had a grocery store and most other necessities in place very early on, but other non-essentials like pubs and the likes took a while. It's still a quiet part of town (which I like) but now we have a couple of really nice restaurants and such in place as well. I think in a world filled with terribly planned urban developments, Hammarby Sjöstad[1] stands out as an example where you can get things right. (They got a lot of things wrong as well, but have largely managed to successfully course correct along the way.) [1]: http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2014/02/12/hammarby-sjostad-a-new-generation-of-sustainable-urban-eco-districts/ http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2014/02/12/hammarby-sjostad... (This link says the bid was for the 2012 olympics, which I think is true as well, but the initial planning was for the 2004 bid I believe and when they failed they continued with the planning and tried again for 2012. I may very well be wrong though.)
- mcgrath_sh 10y ago
  To be fair to the 1980 games and the Olympic Village, Lake Placid is not Stockholm. I would wager the population of the pseudo Olympic Village turned housing is larger than the entirety of Lake Placid (2,521 people).
  - mstade 10y ago
    Sure, but locations aren't randomly chosen. The IOC certainly has the option to push hard for sustainability and longevity.
ak217 10y ago
Atlanta built the olympic village on the Georgia Tech campus, and the dorms became student dorms. Perfect use case.
madeofpalk 10y ago
Olympics have actually placed a large focus on 'sustainable' developments. In Sydney, the Sydney Olympic Park is still standing and is used for lots of events all year round. The athletes villages were converted into apartments. London's has been championed as one of the most sustainable, with it being used to rejuvenate a dead industrial area. Some facilities were built to be temporary, whereas other are being developed further.
will_brown 10y ago
>...less prisons by not incarcerating so many non-violent minor "criminals". "Minor Criminals" as that term might commonly be understood typically don't go to prison, they go to jail. The very nature of prison entails a felony charge, now I know you can make an argument there are a few drug possession crimes that are felonies that shouldn't be, but that is not really applicable to the prison from this article, as this is a Federal prison.

mstade 10y ago

Not disagreeing with you, but would like to offer a counter story. I personality live in what used to be an Olympic villag. Or, more accurately, was supposed to be the Olympic village in the bid for Stockholm as the host city of the 2004 summer olympics. Interestingly, just like the Rio olympics the theme was environmental sustainability. The bid failed, but they went ahead with the plans anyway, and now it's lauded as a major success in urban redevelopment, taking what used to be a run down harbor and factory area which had mostly turned into a really shady part of town, and making it a great place for people to live and work. An old waste dump is now repurposed as a ski slope, and even hosted the Ski World Cup is past winter. While not technically an Olympic development, the idea was always to build a village that could then serve as a new residential area, and goes to show that the olympics can very much be the necessary catalyst in getting major developments off the ground. If IOC wanted to, they could absolutely push for all sorts of change by forming host requirements thereafter. They may want to claim they're non-political, but I don't think that's even possible on the kind of scale they operate.

mstade 10y ago
Wow, such typo. That's what happens when you fat finger a reply on a phone, I guess. :o)
wineisfine 10y ago
This is just an example of smart Scandinavians being 3 steps ahead again. I wonder what'll happen with the Brazil built Olympic villages.
- hardlianotion 10y ago
  Weren't some of the Brazilian Olympic Village reused from the London Olympics? This was going to be a big deal four years ago.
- mstade 10y ago
  Let's be honest, we do some dumb shit too, just like everyone else. But this particular story I like very much. It was laughed at by a lot of people before the development began, it was too expensive, nobody would like it, the design was terrible etc.; and now it's a highly sought after area to live in Stockholm. I'm quite proud of my neighborhood, I'm sure you can tell. I've lived there for over nine years as well, so I've seen the developments up close all this time, and it's been an amazing transformation! When I first moved in, it was mostly a construction area. Thankfully we had a grocery store and most other necessities in place very early on, but other non-essentials like pubs and the likes took a while. It's still a quiet part of town (which I like) but now we have a couple of really nice restaurants and such in place as well. I think in a world filled with terribly planned urban developments, Hammarby Sjöstad[1] stands out as an example where you can get things right. (They got a lot of things wrong as well, but have largely managed to successfully course correct along the way.) [1]: http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2014/02/12/hammarby-sjostad-a-new-generation-of-sustainable-urban-eco-districts/ http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2014/02/12/hammarby-sjostad... (This link says the bid was for the 2012 olympics, which I think is true as well, but the initial planning was for the 2004 bid I believe and when they failed they continued with the planning and tried again for 2012. I may very well be wrong though.)
mcgrath_sh 10y ago
To be fair to the 1980 games and the Olympic Village, Lake Placid is not Stockholm. I would wager the population of the pseudo Olympic Village turned housing is larger than the entirety of Lake Placid (2,521 people).
- mstade 10y ago
  Sure, but locations aren't randomly chosen. The IOC certainly has the option to push hard for sustainability and longevity.

ak217 10y ago

Atlanta built the olympic village on the Georgia Tech campus, and the dorms became student dorms. Perfect use case.

madeofpalk 10y ago

Olympics have actually placed a large focus on 'sustainable' developments. In Sydney, the Sydney Olympic Park is still standing and is used for lots of events all year round. The athletes villages were converted into apartments. London's has been championed as one of the most sustainable, with it being used to rejuvenate a dead industrial area. Some facilities were built to be temporary, whereas other are being developed further.

will_brown 10y ago

>...less prisons by not incarcerating so many non-violent minor "criminals". "Minor Criminals" as that term might commonly be understood typically don't go to prison, they go to jail. The very nature of prison entails a felony charge, now I know you can make an argument there are a few drug possession crimes that are felonies that shouldn't be, but that is not really applicable to the prison from this article, as this is a Federal prison.