LONDON EAST Research Institute

Publications

New Publications

Olympic Cities: 2012 and the Reshaping of London Ashgate Publishers 2009

Olympic cities cover version

Drawing upon historical, cultural, economic and socio-demographic perspectives, this book examines the role of a sporting mega-event in promoting urban regeneration and social renewal. Comparing cities that have or will be hosting the event, it explores the political economy of the games and the changing role of the state in creating post-industrial metropolitan spaces. It evaluates the changing perceptions of the Olympic Games and the role of sport in the global media age in general and assesses the implication of 'mega-event' regeneration policies for local communities and their cultural, social and economic identities, with specific reference to east London and the Thames Gateway.
Contents: Preface, Iain MacRury and Gavin Poynter; Part 1 The Modern Games and Social Change: Sport, spectacle and society: understanding the Olympics, Michael Rustin; The evolution of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 1948–2012, Gavin Poynter; Branding the Games: commercialism and the Olympic city, Iain MacRury; Olympic-driven urban development, Dean Baim. Part 2 Olympic Cities: The legacy of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Hyunsun Yoon; The economy of the Barcelona Olympic Games, Ferran Brunet; Atlanta (1996): the Centennial Games, Gavin Poynter and Emma Roberts; Regenerating Sydney''s West: framing and adapting an Olympic vision, Richard Cashman; The 28th Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Roy Panagiotopoulou; The economy of the Beijing Olympic Games: an analysis of prospects and first impacts, Ferran Brunet and Zuo Xinwen. Part 3 London 2012: London: preparing for 2012, Gavin Poynter; London 2012 and the regeneration game, Penny Bernstock; ''Race'', sport and East London, Kevin Hilton and Nigel D. Morpeth; London 2012 – winning the Olympic ''green'' medal, Paul Toyne; Technology, space and the paralympic athlete, Allan Edwards, Otto J. Schanz and Keith Gilbert; Where is England in contemporary Britain – and will the 2012 Olympics help us find it? Andrew Blake; London, Beijing and the role of culture in reconstructing society, Andrew Calcutt. Part 4 Olympic Legacies: Olympic cities and social change, Iain MacRury and Gavin Poynter; Index.
About the Editor: Professor Gavin Poynter and Dr Iain MacRury are both in the School of Social Sciences and Media and Cultural Studies at the University of East London, UK
Reviews: 'London 2012 returned from China last summer impressed but undaunted by our experience of the Beijing Games. This book provokes the same reaction. For those with an interest in, or responsibility for, London's legacy planning there is much here with which to agree and some perspectives with which to disagree, but the contributions are never less than thoughtful, thought-provoking and challenging.'
Tom Russell, Group Director Olympic Legacy, London Development Agency, UK

London's Turning: The Making of Thames Gateway
Philip Cohen and Michael J. Rustin

2008. Ashgate Publications. London.

The Thames Gateway plan is the largest and most complex project of urban regeneration ever undertaken in the United Kingdom. This book provides a comprehensive overview and critique of the Thames Gateway plan, but at the same time it uses the plan as a lens through which to look at a series of important questions of social theory, urban policy and governmental practice. It examines the impact of urban planning and demographic change on East London's material and social environment, including new forms of ethnic gentrification, the development of the eastern hinterlands, shifting patterns of migration between city and country, the role of new policies in regulating housing provision and the attempt to create new cultural hubs downriver. It also looks at issues of governance and accountability, the tension between public and private interests, and the immediate and longer term prospects for the Thames Gateway project both in relation to the 'Olympics effect' and the growth of new forms of regionalism.

Preface; Editorial introduction, Philip Cohen and Michael J. Rustin; Part 1 Big Pictures, Small Details: Ex-ports: the laboratory role of London's docklands, Han Meyer; Smokestack: the industrial history of Thames Gateway, John Marriott; 120 years of regeneration, from East London to the Thames Gateway: fluctuations of housing type and city form, William Mann; Daring to plan? Concepts and models of urban regeneration in Thames Gateway, Michael Keith; Thames Gateway oxymorons: some reflections on 'sustainable communities' and neoliberal governance, Massimo De Angelis; Forcing the market, forging community: culture as social construction in the Thames gateway, Andrew Calcutt; Stuff happens: telling the story and doing the business in the making of Thames Gateway, Philip Cohen. Part 2 Case Studies in Urban Change: City to sea: some socio-demographic impacts of change in East London, Tim Butler, Chris Hamnett, Mark Ramsden and Sadiq Mir; Moving to a better place? Geographies of aspiration and anxiety in the Thames Gateway, Paul Watt; Homing in on housing, Penny Bernstock; 'Alright on the night'? Envisioning a 'night time economy' in the Thames Gateway, Karina Berzins and Iain MacRury; From bedsit-land to 'cultural hub': re-generating Southend-on-Sea, Gareth Millington; The Thames Gateway bridge: a new 'solution' to an old problem?, Andrew Blake; The airport next door; London City airport – regeneration, communities and networks, Iain MacRury; Involving local communities in the Thames Gateway developments, Alice Sampson; Blues sky over Bluewater?, Michael Edwards; After London's turning: prospects and legacies for Thames Gateway, Philip Cohen and Miichael J.Rustin; Index.

Link to Ashgate Publications

Link to London's Turning on Amazon

Future Publications

'Olympic Cities' Ed. G. Poynter& I. MacRury (forthcoming)

Past Publications

Eastern Promise: Education and Renewal in London's Docklands

2000: Editor Tim Butler

Synopsis
What are the challenges that face a new campus for a university, particularly in an area - such as East London - which is in need of regeneration and investment? Can a university become integrated into the community and at the same time contribute to the regeneration of that community, both by helping individuals and the community as a whole? The authors consider these questions in relation to the new campus of the University of East London, which is to be situated in the Docklands. The area is very diverse, and the local economy and infrastructure have undergone major restructuring in the last decade. At the same time, at a national level, there has been rapid change in the nature of higher education. Given all these changes, students, the community and business now have different expectations of their local university. The essays in this text consider how the university should adapt itself to these changing needs and expectations. They argue that there can no longer be a single model of what a university should be. Non-traditional universities need to redefine their roles and find new ways of meeting local needs.

This will include: new relationships between teachers and students; more use of information technology; more involvement in the regeneration of the local economy, including in the cultural industries; more involvement in training, including a role in lifelong learning, access courses, and other intermediate forms of education; and new partnerships with other agencies - local industry, the local state and voluntary agencies.

Link to Eastern Promise on Amazon

Rising in the East: Regeneration of East London

1996: Editors Tim Butler & Michael Rustin

Synopsis
Every modern global city needs its urban hinterland. Brooklyn is New York's "back region", while London has an ever-expanding East End. This area, whose traditional working class essence is represented each week in "East Enders", now attracts huge volumes of public and private investment, in what has become the largest urban development zone in the United Kingdom. The financial sector and communications industries have moved east from the City into the Isle of Dogs, and government has defined the "East Thames Gateway" as a major site for regional urban regeneration. The East End of the imagination doesn't always correspond to the reality. It now takes in a large part of Essex - on some definitions, stretching as far as Southend. Its population is now one of the most ethnically diverse in Britain. It is also becoming significantly more middle class, by criteria of occupation, education and property-ownership. This book explores the meaning of these changes.

Link to Rising in the East on Amazon