It concerns me that so many people are against Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the city of Boston, surrounding communities, and United States athletes. I think those opposing the Olympics need to spend serious time analyzing the issue before simply jumping to conclusions that the Boston Olympics would be just another Beijing or Sochi disaster. I know many residents are scarred from the Big Dig debacle but it’s time to open our collective minds to the opportunities a Boston bid can provide.
Concerns with construction, traffic, and general infrastructure problems are often cited as reasons not to host the games. Many of the upgrades to public transportation are going to happen whether or not we end up hosting the Olympics. Boston 2024 has clearly aligned their needs with the long term planning goals of the city and state. Many of these “construction nightmares” are going to happen, regardless of Boston 2024.
Boston is at a crossroads. More and more people are moving into the city and Boston’s public transportation will need to meet these demands. On the other hand, there’s a whole generation of people who are being forced out of the city due to rising rents and home prices. The city needs more affordable housing. These problems can’t be ignored and coincidentally align nicely with the needs of the Olympic bid.
Boston’s bid allows local, city, and state officials to work together to improve public transportation, zoning laws, green spaces, and affordable housing with a very real deadline in place. New York, a bid city for the 2012 games, reaped many rewards even though they eventually lost the bid to London. In a January 14th Boston Globe article it was stated, “The rezoning done for the Olympics has done more to transform New York than any other land development during the past half-century,” said Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban planning and policy at New York University, who released a 2011 report on how the city “won” with its rejected bid.” Boston 2024 could be a catalyst for some real progress with some of the city’s most pressing problems.
Many people use the “not in my backyard” reason for why Boston should not host the Olympics. This is the Olympics! The world’s biggest sporting event that unites the world for two short weeks every two years. For two weeks the focus shifts from what is wrong in the world to what is right in the world. Some city has to host the Olympics. That’s how it works and Boston has what it takes to do it in a sustainable, innovative way.
Boston’s Olympics could be the most sustainable, walkable Olympics in the history of the event. The organizers have capitalized on two of the city’s biggest assets, the fact that it is a walkable city and is home to so many colleges and universities. By partnering with the colleges and universities organizers will not need to build nearly as many stadiums, fields, and arenas as previous hosts. By keeping venues in a compact area, and with improvements to public transportation, traffic issues could be manageable.
Boston has what it takes to host an event on the level of the Olympics. Sure, it would be easy to say that some other city should step up instead, but Boston doesn’t take the easy way out of anything. This city has proved that it doesn’t back down from a challenge, so why back down now? I urge concerned community members to engage in productive dialogue with the Boston 2024 organizing committee, attend an information meeting, ask questions, and get informed. You might just find out that an Olympic bid has a lot to offer.
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