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Take five: The 2010 Winter Olympics and the DTES
Shannon Murray
Master of Library and Information Studies candidate
UBC iSchool
Take five is a series that highlights items in the Downtown Eastside Research Access Portal (DTES RAP) collection, and sometimes beyond, about a particular topic. We hope this introduction provides a good starting point for your research. If you need any help finding items in the collection, please contact community engagement librarian Nick Ubels at nick.ubels@ubc.ca
Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics just over a decade ago. I’ve put together a list of five items that explore the impact that they had on the DTES before, during, and after the games. These articles are included in the DTES RAP collection. However, some of them may not be free to access immediately. I’ve noted when this is the case in the descriptions below. While we are working with researchers to make more articles available for free, we heard that it was important to list other research relevant to the DTES with access restrictions in the collection as well. If you would like to read one of these articles, please contact us using the “Get Help by Email” button and we will do our best to find a copy you can use.
Photo by Duncan Rawlinson. Used under an Attribution-Non Commercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) license.
1. Street-level policing in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada, during the 2010 Winter Olympics (2011)
Police presence typically increases in host cities while the games are underway. The authors of this study examine police presence during the 2010 Olympics to determine the connection between increased street-level policing and reduced access to harm-reduction services. They were surprised to find that increased policing did not reduce access to health services. The authors suggest several reasons why, including increased community scrutiny in anticipation of a crackdown. Read more about their findings through the DTES RAP. This article may require mediated access.
2. “The Olympics do not understand Canada”: Canada and the rise of the Olympic Protests (2016)
Historian Christine O’Bonsawin discusses the protests that occurred in Vancouver during the Olympic bid process, after being selected as host city, and while the games were taking place. Activists in the DTES were vocal about the harm that hosting the games could cause – both within the community and beyond. Click here to find more about the history of Olympics protests in Canadian host cities. This article may require mediated access.
3. The city and the spectacle: social housing, homelessness, and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (2015)
This dissertation examines the City of Vancouver’s urban and housing policies while acting as host city for the games. The author argues that the policies introduced by the city acted as a form of social control as they made homelessness and poverty a criminal offense. Learn more about mega-events and their effect on social housing in Vancouver via the DTES RAP.
4. Mega-event impact assessment and policy attribution: embedded case study, social housing, and the 2010 Winter Olympics (2015)
A mega-event is defined as a one-time event that welcomes a large number of attendees, has a high cost, and is covered heavily by the media. These mega-events, like Expo ’86 and the 2010 Olympic Games, often come at a cost. In Vancouver many single room occupancy (SRO) units were demolished to create additional tourist rentals. Learn more about the mega-events and how they can affect social housing through the DTES RAP.
5. Sanitizing public space in Olympic host cities: the spatial experiences of marginalized youth in 2010 Vancouver and 2012 London (2011)
Jacqueline Kennelly and Paul Watt focus on youth experiencing homelessness in Vancouver during the games. They discuss how youth in the DTES navigated an increased police presence during the games through physical space(s). To learn more about this connection click here.
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Do you have questions or feedback about this article? Do you have an idea for the news section? Please reach out to community engagement librarian Nick Ubels at nick.ubels@ubc.ca.
