Books by Eva Kassens-Noor
The purpose of this book is to identify legacies arising from the bidding and planning process fo... more The purpose of this book is to identify legacies arising from the bidding and planning process for Los Angeles’ 2028 Summer Olympic Games. Providing a brief historical account of the bidding processes and legacies for the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, the book answers the question of why LA won the 2028 Olympic bid. LA’s Olympic bidding process is the story of a city hosting the Games in which the process of bidding in an adversarial anti-Olympic bid climate was custom made for LA. The focus of the book lies on testing the premise whether and why the bid boosters’ claim “we have done it before, we can do it again” may or may not hold for LA’s 2028 legacies. Four elements challenge similar legacies from previous Games: the proposed dual opening and closing ceremony, the under-construction gigantic NFL stadium, and the vast planned transport expansion of LA challenge similar legacies from previous LA Games. No matter the legacy outcomes, the future two Olympic hosts including LA 2028 will determine the fate of the International Olympic Committee, the Olympics brand, and the Olympic Games.
When a city wins the right to hold the Olympics, one of the oft cited advantages to the region is... more When a city wins the right to hold the Olympics, one of the oft cited advantages to the region is the catalytic effect upon the urban and transport projects of the host cities. However, with unparalleled access to documents and records, Eva Kassens-Noor questions and challenges this fundamental assertion of host cities who claim to have used the Olympic Games as a way to move forward their urban agendas
In fact, transport dreams to stage the "perfect Games" of the International Olympic Committee and the governments of the host cities have lead to urban realities that significantly differ from the development path the city had set out to accomplish before winning the Olympic bid. Ultimately it is precisely the IOC’s influence—and the city’s foresight and sophistication (or lack thereof) in coping with it—that determines whether years after the Games there are legacies benefitting the former hosts.
The text is supported by revealing interviews from lead host city planners and key documents, which highlight striking discrepancies between media broadcasts and the internal communications between the IOC and host city governments. It focuses on the inside story of the urban and transport change process undergone by four cities (Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, and Athens) that staged the Olympics and forecasts London and Rio de Janeiro’s urban trajectories. The final chapter advises cities on how to leverage the Olympic opportunity to advance their long-run urban strategic plans and interests while fulfilling the International Olympic Committee’s fundamental requirements.
This is a uniquely positioned look at why Olympic cities have – or do not have – the transport and urban legacies they had wished for. The book will be of interest to planners, government agencies and those involved in organising future Games.
Papers by Eva Kassens-Noor
The Olympic Games bring tremendous impacts to host cities, yet little attention has been paid to ... more The Olympic Games bring tremendous impacts to host cities, yet little attention has been paid to the variety and novelty in urban technologies that are introduced through the mega-event vehicle. This paper argues that urban transformation associated with the Olympic Games increasingly spans the technological sphere. As a path-breaker the Olympic bid of Tokyo foreshadows a technological revolution that will make the capital of Japan the most advanced urban technology metropolis in the world. This is significant, as this pioneer for the city of the future may yield many valuable insights given the rapid implementation and acceleration of technological innovation proceeding into 2020. Consequently, lessons on how this technology may impact our society can be derived.
Journal of Infrastructure Systems, 2009
Mega-events like the Olympic Games are powerful forces that shape cities. In the wake of mega-eve... more Mega-events like the Olympic Games are powerful forces that shape cities. In the wake of mega-events, a variety of positive and negative legacies have remained in host cities. In order to bring some theoretical clarity to debates about legacy creation, I introduce the concepts of the mega-event utopia, dystopia and heterotopia. A mega-event utopia is ideal and imaginary urbanism embracing abstract concepts about economies, socio-political systems, spaces, and societies in the host during events. The mega-event utopia (in contrast to other utopian visions other stakeholders may hold) is dictated by the desires of the mega-event owners irrespective of the realities in the event host. In short, a mega-event utopia is the perfect event host from the owner’s perspective. Mega-event utopias are suggested as a theoretical model for the systematic transformation of their host cities. As large-scale events progress as ever more powerful transformers into this century, mega-event dystopias have emerged as negatives of these idealistic utopias. As hybrid post-event landscapes, mega-event heterotopias manifest the temporary mega-event utopia as legacy imprints into the long-term realities in hosting cities. Using the Olympic utopia as an example of a mega-event utopia, I theorize utopian visions around four urban traits: economy, image, infrastructure and society. Through the concept of the mega-event legacy utopia, I also provide some insight toward the operationalization of the four urban traits for a city’s economic development, local place marketing, urban development, and public participation.
International Planning Studies, 2015
Developing nations increasingly seek mega-events in the pursuit of globalization. India has recen... more Developing nations increasingly seek mega-events in the pursuit of globalization. India has recently renewed such aspirations by hosting the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. The purpose of the paper is to assess Delhi’s urban transport development through a sporting mega-event as a globalization strategy for a developing country. Therefore, the authors comparatively analyze the transport plans pre-bid (2003) and transport legacies (2013). The authors argue that the alignment of the mega-event needs with Delhi’s urban master plan was partially fulfilled as many infrastructural projects were catalyzed. However, the Games also compelled the city to invest in developments that were required for the successful delivery of the Games. This paper contributes to the discussion on how mega-events influence urban planning and points out significant challenges and opportunities developing cities face when preparing for a sporting mega-event.
Managing the Football World Cup, 2014
While much academic work has focused on how a singular teaching practice impacts student engageme... more While much academic work has focused on how a singular teaching practice impacts student engagement and learning, synergies among innovative teaching practices have largely been ignored by the academic community. I seek to address this gap by proposing a new blended course design and report on the impact three innovative teaching practices (flipped class, movement, and twitter) combined had on ten undergraduate students taking an urban planning course focused on sustainability and climate resilience. I explore advantages and disadvantages of this course design through pre-and post-diagnostics, audio and video recordings, tweets, assignments, student feedback, and personal reflection. Because students adapt to their learning environments and showed learning gains especially in environments they had not been taught in before, I suggest that students need to learn in the places they ultimately work.
Eva Kassens-Noor, Mark Wilson, Sven Müller, Brij Maharaj & Laura Huntoon (2015). Towards a Mega-E... more Eva Kassens-Noor, Mark Wilson, Sven Müller, Brij Maharaj & Laura Huntoon (2015). Towards a Mega-Event Legacy Framework. Leisure Studies
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/iCcq6DFpAxczGbajZsvF/full
The legacy created in pursuit of a mega-event, like the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, World’s Fair or the Hajj, can provide tremendous opportunities for the host to advance urban development. The challenge faced by cities is how to direct the public and private spending on desired legacies to support their pre-bid urban agendas. To provide guidance for scholars and event planners interested in using events to further urban development agendas we present a framework for cataloguing the outcomes associated with mega-event planning.
Chandra, S. and E. Kassens-Noor, (2014). The Evolution and Diffusion of the Influenza Pandemic of... more Chandra, S. and E. Kassens-Noor, (2014). The Evolution and Diffusion of the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19 in India. BMC Infectious Disease: 14:510 doi:10.1186/1471-2334-14-510
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/14/510/abstract
Background
The 1918-19 'Spanish' Influenza was the most devastating pandemic in recent history, with estimates of global mortality ranging from 20 to 50 million. The focal point of the pandemic was India, with an estimated death toll of between 10 and 20 million. We will characterize the pattern of spread, mortality, and evolution of the 1918 influenza across India using spatial or temporal data.
Methods
This study estimates weekly deaths in 213 districts from nine provinces in India. We compute statistical measures of the severity, speed, and duration of the virulent autumn wave of the disease as it evolved and diffused throughout India. These estimates create a clear picture of the spread of the pandemic across India.
Results
Analysis of the timing and mortality patterns of the disease reveals a striking pattern of speed deceleration, reduction in peak-week mortality, a prolonging of the epidemic wave, and a decrease in overall virulence of the pandemic over time.
Conclusions
The findings are consistent with a variety of possible causes, including the changing nature of the dominant viral strain and the timing and severity of the monsoon. The results significantly advance our knowledge of this devastating pandemic at its global focal point.
Chandra, S., E. Kassens-Noor, G. Kuljanin*, J. Vertalka* (2013). A Geographic Analysis of Populat... more Chandra, S., E. Kassens-Noor, G. Kuljanin*, J. Vertalka* (2013). A Geographic Analysis of Population Density Thresholds in the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19. International Journal of Health Geographics:12(9). doi:10.1186/1476-072X-12-9
This paper introduces a useful analytic tool to the health geographic literature. It illustrates an application of the tool to demonstrate that it can be useful for pandemic awareness and preparedness efforts. Specifically, it estimates a level of population density above which policies to socially distance, redistribute or quarantine populations are likely to be more effective than they are for areas with population densities that lie below the threshold.
Kassens-Noor, E. (2013). The Transport Legacy of the Olympic Games, 1992-2012. Journal of Urban A... more Kassens-Noor, E. (2013). The Transport Legacy of the Olympic Games, 1992-2012. Journal of Urban Affairs Vol 35 Iss 4, pp. 393-416 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9906.2012.00626.x
Legacy planning in preparation for the Olympic Games has significantly grown in importance for host cities and the IOC because of the wasteful investments for some previous Games. Since the late 1990’s, the IOC has actively sought to prevent such over-spending through a transfer of knowledge program, in which valuable lessons are passed from one host city to the next. This paper analyzes the transport legacies of the Olympic Games, using original archive material and interviews with key decision-makers in five cities. While previous research into the effects of the Olympic Games on host cities suggests that infrastructural legacies are place-specific, the main argument of this paper is that the transport legacies of the Olympic Games are much more uniform across the host cities. Even though the host cities’ transport systems were intrinsically different pre-Olympics, the author finds similar features of the Olympic Transport System, which were developed through the Transfer of Knowledge program, produced similar legacies. In explaining the creation of transport legacies through Olympically motivated drivers, the author suggests the Olympics might trigger similar transport developments in future host cities. Therefore, city planners can use Olympic transport features as powerful catalysts to accelerate their urban and transport plans.
U. Bob and E. Kassens-Noor (2012). An indicator framework to assess the legacy impacts of the 201... more U. Bob and E. Kassens-Noor (2012). An indicator framework to assess the legacy impacts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance (AJPHERD) September 2012 (Supplement 1), pp. 12-21.
Assessing legacy impacts entails monitoring and evaluating the long-terms effects of mega-events which is a neglected area of research. Most researchers on mega-events focus on projections before and during the hosting of a mega-event. Yet, the hosting of mega- events is generally explained in relation to long-term and enduring impacts which justify the massive investments often associated with hosting mega-events. This is particularly relevant given the considerable investments required from public funds, especially in South Africa that is largely a developmental state with high transformational and developmental demands. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was viewed as a key opportunity to initiate and promote social, economic, environmental and sport legacies (amongst others) in South Africa. It is asserted that legacy evaluations provide a platform for an assessment of lessons derived from a systematic cost-benefit analysis of a mega-event. This article provides a critical examination of how legacy is conceptualised in relation to mega-events, and specifically in the context of South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It then highlights the key legacy impacts (both planned and unplanned) that are likely to be derived from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Finally, the article suggests a legacy indicator framework for the medium and longer-tern assessment of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Assessing legacy impacts is critically important since the effects of mega-events are increasingly being questioned, specifically in relation to sustainability imperatives. Furthermore, examining long-term outcomes are central to informing future bidding and planning of mega-events.
With the rise of Web 2.0, a multitude of new possibilities on how to use these online technologie... more With the rise of Web 2.0, a multitude of new possibilities on how to use these online technologies for active learning has intrigued researchers. While most instructors have used Twitter for in-class discussions, this study explores the teaching practice of Twitter as an active, informal, outside-of-class learning tool. Through a comparative experiment in a small classroom setting, this study asks whether the use of Twitter aids students in learning of a particular subject matter. And if so, in which learning contexts Twitter offers advantages over more traditional teaching methods. This exploratory study showed potential opportunities and pitfalls that Twitter could bring to the e-learning community in higher education.
This white paper defines the role that transportation can and should play for resilient communiti... more This white paper defines the role that transportation can and should play for resilient communities in hazard-prone regions. It lays out the demands and potential supply options in adapting land, marine, and air transportation systems while creating resilient and sustainable communities. It pays particular attention to the integration of adaptive and mitigative transport measures, so as to prevent future impacts of climate change.
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Books by Eva Kassens-Noor
In fact, transport dreams to stage the "perfect Games" of the International Olympic Committee and the governments of the host cities have lead to urban realities that significantly differ from the development path the city had set out to accomplish before winning the Olympic bid. Ultimately it is precisely the IOC’s influence—and the city’s foresight and sophistication (or lack thereof) in coping with it—that determines whether years after the Games there are legacies benefitting the former hosts.
The text is supported by revealing interviews from lead host city planners and key documents, which highlight striking discrepancies between media broadcasts and the internal communications between the IOC and host city governments. It focuses on the inside story of the urban and transport change process undergone by four cities (Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, and Athens) that staged the Olympics and forecasts London and Rio de Janeiro’s urban trajectories. The final chapter advises cities on how to leverage the Olympic opportunity to advance their long-run urban strategic plans and interests while fulfilling the International Olympic Committee’s fundamental requirements.
This is a uniquely positioned look at why Olympic cities have – or do not have – the transport and urban legacies they had wished for. The book will be of interest to planners, government agencies and those involved in organising future Games.
Papers by Eva Kassens-Noor
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/iCcq6DFpAxczGbajZsvF/full
The legacy created in pursuit of a mega-event, like the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, World’s Fair or the Hajj, can provide tremendous opportunities for the host to advance urban development. The challenge faced by cities is how to direct the public and private spending on desired legacies to support their pre-bid urban agendas. To provide guidance for scholars and event planners interested in using events to further urban development agendas we present a framework for cataloguing the outcomes associated with mega-event planning.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/14/510/abstract
Background
The 1918-19 'Spanish' Influenza was the most devastating pandemic in recent history, with estimates of global mortality ranging from 20 to 50 million. The focal point of the pandemic was India, with an estimated death toll of between 10 and 20 million. We will characterize the pattern of spread, mortality, and evolution of the 1918 influenza across India using spatial or temporal data.
Methods
This study estimates weekly deaths in 213 districts from nine provinces in India. We compute statistical measures of the severity, speed, and duration of the virulent autumn wave of the disease as it evolved and diffused throughout India. These estimates create a clear picture of the spread of the pandemic across India.
Results
Analysis of the timing and mortality patterns of the disease reveals a striking pattern of speed deceleration, reduction in peak-week mortality, a prolonging of the epidemic wave, and a decrease in overall virulence of the pandemic over time.
Conclusions
The findings are consistent with a variety of possible causes, including the changing nature of the dominant viral strain and the timing and severity of the monsoon. The results significantly advance our knowledge of this devastating pandemic at its global focal point.
This paper introduces a useful analytic tool to the health geographic literature. It illustrates an application of the tool to demonstrate that it can be useful for pandemic awareness and preparedness efforts. Specifically, it estimates a level of population density above which policies to socially distance, redistribute or quarantine populations are likely to be more effective than they are for areas with population densities that lie below the threshold.
Legacy planning in preparation for the Olympic Games has significantly grown in importance for host cities and the IOC because of the wasteful investments for some previous Games. Since the late 1990’s, the IOC has actively sought to prevent such over-spending through a transfer of knowledge program, in which valuable lessons are passed from one host city to the next. This paper analyzes the transport legacies of the Olympic Games, using original archive material and interviews with key decision-makers in five cities. While previous research into the effects of the Olympic Games on host cities suggests that infrastructural legacies are place-specific, the main argument of this paper is that the transport legacies of the Olympic Games are much more uniform across the host cities. Even though the host cities’ transport systems were intrinsically different pre-Olympics, the author finds similar features of the Olympic Transport System, which were developed through the Transfer of Knowledge program, produced similar legacies. In explaining the creation of transport legacies through Olympically motivated drivers, the author suggests the Olympics might trigger similar transport developments in future host cities. Therefore, city planners can use Olympic transport features as powerful catalysts to accelerate their urban and transport plans.
Assessing legacy impacts entails monitoring and evaluating the long-terms effects of mega-events which is a neglected area of research. Most researchers on mega-events focus on projections before and during the hosting of a mega-event. Yet, the hosting of mega- events is generally explained in relation to long-term and enduring impacts which justify the massive investments often associated with hosting mega-events. This is particularly relevant given the considerable investments required from public funds, especially in South Africa that is largely a developmental state with high transformational and developmental demands. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was viewed as a key opportunity to initiate and promote social, economic, environmental and sport legacies (amongst others) in South Africa. It is asserted that legacy evaluations provide a platform for an assessment of lessons derived from a systematic cost-benefit analysis of a mega-event. This article provides a critical examination of how legacy is conceptualised in relation to mega-events, and specifically in the context of South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It then highlights the key legacy impacts (both planned and unplanned) that are likely to be derived from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Finally, the article suggests a legacy indicator framework for the medium and longer-tern assessment of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Assessing legacy impacts is critically important since the effects of mega-events are increasingly being questioned, specifically in relation to sustainability imperatives. Furthermore, examining long-term outcomes are central to informing future bidding and planning of mega-events.
In fact, transport dreams to stage the "perfect Games" of the International Olympic Committee and the governments of the host cities have lead to urban realities that significantly differ from the development path the city had set out to accomplish before winning the Olympic bid. Ultimately it is precisely the IOC’s influence—and the city’s foresight and sophistication (or lack thereof) in coping with it—that determines whether years after the Games there are legacies benefitting the former hosts.
The text is supported by revealing interviews from lead host city planners and key documents, which highlight striking discrepancies between media broadcasts and the internal communications between the IOC and host city governments. It focuses on the inside story of the urban and transport change process undergone by four cities (Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, and Athens) that staged the Olympics and forecasts London and Rio de Janeiro’s urban trajectories. The final chapter advises cities on how to leverage the Olympic opportunity to advance their long-run urban strategic plans and interests while fulfilling the International Olympic Committee’s fundamental requirements.
This is a uniquely positioned look at why Olympic cities have – or do not have – the transport and urban legacies they had wished for. The book will be of interest to planners, government agencies and those involved in organising future Games.
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/iCcq6DFpAxczGbajZsvF/full
The legacy created in pursuit of a mega-event, like the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, World’s Fair or the Hajj, can provide tremendous opportunities for the host to advance urban development. The challenge faced by cities is how to direct the public and private spending on desired legacies to support their pre-bid urban agendas. To provide guidance for scholars and event planners interested in using events to further urban development agendas we present a framework for cataloguing the outcomes associated with mega-event planning.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/14/510/abstract
Background
The 1918-19 'Spanish' Influenza was the most devastating pandemic in recent history, with estimates of global mortality ranging from 20 to 50 million. The focal point of the pandemic was India, with an estimated death toll of between 10 and 20 million. We will characterize the pattern of spread, mortality, and evolution of the 1918 influenza across India using spatial or temporal data.
Methods
This study estimates weekly deaths in 213 districts from nine provinces in India. We compute statistical measures of the severity, speed, and duration of the virulent autumn wave of the disease as it evolved and diffused throughout India. These estimates create a clear picture of the spread of the pandemic across India.
Results
Analysis of the timing and mortality patterns of the disease reveals a striking pattern of speed deceleration, reduction in peak-week mortality, a prolonging of the epidemic wave, and a decrease in overall virulence of the pandemic over time.
Conclusions
The findings are consistent with a variety of possible causes, including the changing nature of the dominant viral strain and the timing and severity of the monsoon. The results significantly advance our knowledge of this devastating pandemic at its global focal point.
This paper introduces a useful analytic tool to the health geographic literature. It illustrates an application of the tool to demonstrate that it can be useful for pandemic awareness and preparedness efforts. Specifically, it estimates a level of population density above which policies to socially distance, redistribute or quarantine populations are likely to be more effective than they are for areas with population densities that lie below the threshold.
Legacy planning in preparation for the Olympic Games has significantly grown in importance for host cities and the IOC because of the wasteful investments for some previous Games. Since the late 1990’s, the IOC has actively sought to prevent such over-spending through a transfer of knowledge program, in which valuable lessons are passed from one host city to the next. This paper analyzes the transport legacies of the Olympic Games, using original archive material and interviews with key decision-makers in five cities. While previous research into the effects of the Olympic Games on host cities suggests that infrastructural legacies are place-specific, the main argument of this paper is that the transport legacies of the Olympic Games are much more uniform across the host cities. Even though the host cities’ transport systems were intrinsically different pre-Olympics, the author finds similar features of the Olympic Transport System, which were developed through the Transfer of Knowledge program, produced similar legacies. In explaining the creation of transport legacies through Olympically motivated drivers, the author suggests the Olympics might trigger similar transport developments in future host cities. Therefore, city planners can use Olympic transport features as powerful catalysts to accelerate their urban and transport plans.
Assessing legacy impacts entails monitoring and evaluating the long-terms effects of mega-events which is a neglected area of research. Most researchers on mega-events focus on projections before and during the hosting of a mega-event. Yet, the hosting of mega- events is generally explained in relation to long-term and enduring impacts which justify the massive investments often associated with hosting mega-events. This is particularly relevant given the considerable investments required from public funds, especially in South Africa that is largely a developmental state with high transformational and developmental demands. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was viewed as a key opportunity to initiate and promote social, economic, environmental and sport legacies (amongst others) in South Africa. It is asserted that legacy evaluations provide a platform for an assessment of lessons derived from a systematic cost-benefit analysis of a mega-event. This article provides a critical examination of how legacy is conceptualised in relation to mega-events, and specifically in the context of South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It then highlights the key legacy impacts (both planned and unplanned) that are likely to be derived from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Finally, the article suggests a legacy indicator framework for the medium and longer-tern assessment of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Assessing legacy impacts is critically important since the effects of mega-events are increasingly being questioned, specifically in relation to sustainability imperatives. Furthermore, examining long-term outcomes are central to informing future bidding and planning of mega-events.
http://www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/doifinder/10.1057/9780230389588.0016
http://www.usu.edu/usupress/books/index.cfm?isbn=9012