"The immediate-term outcome is that the discretionary grants from the federal government are going to be oriented away from urban areas, communities of color, and pedestrian, bike and transit projects"
Gustavo Lopes dos Santos is an urban planner and researcher at the Center for Territory, Urbanism, and Architecture at the University of Lisbon. He focuses on megaevents, including how temporary and permanent infrastructure impacts local communities. He's also studied how a set of IOC reforms known as Agenda 2020 and Agenda 2020+5 have changed the bidding and hosting landscape for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2022, Gustavo was awarded an Olympic Studies Centre PhD Students and Early Career Academics Research Grant.
When I saw Gustavo present at UCLA's Lake Arrowhead symposium, his research challenged the sustainability claims of some of the marquee projects constructed by Paris for the 2024 games. I knew he'd be the perfect person to bring perspective to LA's complicated legacy promises. We'll discuss his recent publications, including his latest extremely relevant paper examining the effectiveness of "Olympic urbanism" strategies. And we'll look at how LA's hosting duties are progressing compared to other cities Gustavo has studied.
Grab an afternoon beverage and bring your questions about how megaevents impact host cities!
Torched Talks with Olympic scholar Gustavo Lopes dos Santos Monday, December 9 2 to 3 p.m. PT
💬 Torched Talks is an ongoing series of conversations with experts on topics facing LA in its megaevent era. It's free and open to all — simply join the Zoom to watch. Missed last month's? You can watch my talk with UCLA's Juan Matute
💻 And, hey, because it's Cyber Monday — if you've been enjoying Torched Talks and want to have access to all the recorded videos in the series, upgrade to 🔥 today! In 2025 the recordings will only be accessible to paying subscribers. Plus you'll get stickers!
A report from last month's UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium, intended to both illuminate existing challenges and light a path forward for progress, reveals deep frustrations and grave concerns about LA's megaevent planning
Executive Directive 9, signed today by LA Mayor Karen Bass, will force LA's infrastructure spending to align with a set of citywide priorities around climate, safety, and accessibility
