Atlanta Olympics

A look at how Atlanta’s Olympic Games allowed for the displacement of 30,000 low-income residents

Land expropriation can occur through the government sponsorship of global events, such as the iconic Olympic Games. Due to the excitement, preparation, and expectionations, the Games often erase the negative effects it has on the citizens of the chosen city, especially when those affected are low-income. The 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia is one example specific to the United States where the negative effects have been overlooked by the popularity of the Games.

In preparation for Atlanta’s Games, 30,000 low-income residents were displaced from their homes to create space for the Olympic venues. In the first half of the 1990s, over nine thousand units of affordable housing were eliminated and four hundred million dollars in public funds were taken away from low-income housing, social services, and other services that provide aid for poor of citizens of Atlanta. As a result, Atlanta became the first United States city to completely demolish all of its housing projects (Albright). In addition, human services organizations were given financial incentives if they converted their shelters to backpacker accommodations during the games, the homeless of Atlanta were left without important resources for two weeks (Theodoraki 213). While the Olympics brought economic prosperity to Atlanta, low-income individuals were left in vulnerable and life-threatening situation as their “homes” were taken from them.

Early in the planning process, Atlanta’s Olympic planning committee made the decision to  relocate the residents of the oldest project. One example Techwood Homes. It was torn down so the Olympic Village could be built on part of the land. The rest of the land was turned into a mixed income neighborhood. While many residents raised concerns, “the plan moved forward with most tenants relocated to an apartment complex in the northwest portion of the city” (Newman 156). While the renovated 'mixed-income complex' was finished after the games, only a small portion of the public housing residents returned.

This action of relocating residents and renovating the projects into mixed income neighborhoods was repeated on four other housing projects. It was a part of the Atlanta Housing Authority's 'Olympic Legacy Program.' The Housing Authority relocated over a hundred families from Techwood Homes, “558 from Clark Howell Homes, 340 from Eagan Homes, 470 from East Lake Meadows, 64 from John Hope Homes, and 30 from Martin Street Plaza” (Newman 156). These projects resulted in thousands of lower income families being relocated at a time with little promise of being rebuilt.

For most of these individuals “the impact of the Olympic Games was the sacrifice of the use value of their homes and neighborhoods as part of the costs of growth” (Newman 157). Those who had to sacrifice their living environments belonged to minorities who voices are often lowered when such events are planned. Many of these low-income individuals are still feeling the effects of the Olympic Games on their lives.