Thursday, July 22, 2010

London 2012 A Long-Term Impact on City's East End?

This piece wonders whether the UK's £8-billion investment in London's 2012 Summer Olympics will have the intended effect of transforming the city's East End into a vibrant part of the metropolis.

While parts of East London have been transformed — as any visitor to the financial centre, Canary Warf or the 02 Concert Arena will testify — large parts remain huge pockets of poverty. Newham, where around 60 per cent of Olympic events will take place, is among the poorest — and most ethnically diverse — boroughs in the UK, according to the government indices of multiple deprivation, with high rates of joblessness, homelessness, child poverty and infant mortality. Around 15 per cent of adults lack employment, according to the Trust for London charity, while the rate of infant mortality stands at 7 in 1,000.

Can the Olympics turn East London to prosperity?
Business Line
July 20, 2010