Sustainability and Environment at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games - Assignment Example

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT AT THE GLASGOW COMMONWEALTH GAMES The British Empire Games, just like the Olympic Games, are being held every 4 years. It was in 1930 when the 1st British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Canada. On the 9th of November 2007, it was announced that Glasgow, Scotland will be hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It was only in 1978 in Edmonton that the event’s name was changed to Commonwealth Games (TheCGF.Com, 2011). Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland. In 1929, travel writer H.V. Morton gave the city’s nickname The City of Reality. This city comes in second place next to London as UK’s Biggest Retail Centre. Glasgow has been noted for their ability to adapt to changes. From the arts up to the economic sector, this city was able to withstand all the modifications that were put up. It is not only the people who were able to adapt to the changes, but the city itself (Scotland.Org, 2011). United Nations (UN) identified sustainable development as the “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (1987).” With the changes that Glasgow had encountered in the past, it was still able to withstand challenges whether it was brought about by other nations or by natural conditions. The need that was stated on the definition is not just the needs of every citizen but the needs of the poor population worldwide. In recent years, economy and the environment are just 2 sectors that have undergone and still experiencing transitions. For the economic side, there are big chances that a decision that was made today can have significant effects in the future. However, for the environment, if there are things done against it today, no resources will be left for the generations of tomorrow and there is a very slim chance that nature will back the way it used to be. Clyde Gateway is a place in the city of Glasgow. A month after the announcement that the Commonwealth Games will be hosted by Glasgow, the city council partnered with the South Lanarkshire Council, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government and established the Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company (URC). The partnership was formed aiming to spearhead the approach towards reaching an incomparable physical, social and economic transformation across the Clyde Gateway area (Clyde Gateway URC, 2009). The Organising Committee of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games presented a policy statement in 2010. In this statement, the committee expressed its commitment in delivering environmental responsibility and sustainability specifications. This commitment will be carried through persistent planning and the manner the results will be delivered. Hosting the 2014 Games will be one of the city’s greatest honours however sustaining the development that the games will leave behind will be the city’s legacy. There are infrastructures to be constructed in preparation for the games. Before the construction will commence, there will be areas that are needed to be vacated in preparation of it. One of the goals that the Clyde Gateway URC (2009) expressed is the establishment of a 400,000 sq. m. business area. With this being one of the objectives beyond the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the city of Glasgow will be able to sustain its economic stature in the United Kingdom. The 2014 Games will jumpstart the transformations the Clyde Gateway area will undergo. These changes will be the turning point in the history not just of Glasgow but of the area itself. The event will not just contribute to a vast physical change but also to environmental changes which are usually the cost for a certain location to achieve the advancement that it aspires. With the aim of sustaining not just the economic development of Glasgow but also its environmental features, the 2014 Games committee is obligated to conduct the event which will be memorable and will be a highlight in the city’s history. However, with this obligation, the committee is faced with a duty to uphold its responsibility towards the city’s sustainability and environmental principles (Glasgow 2014, Ltd., 2010). One of the consequences that the committee is confronted with is how to minimise the impact of the income generating opportunities towards the city’s environment. As stated previously, the environment is one feature of a certain location that once destroyed will not be restored in its original form. It took a million years for nature to be in a pristine state. The said state is being used by man as a source for daily needs. It just took decades to destroy the environment where they have built their homes and livelihood. As new infrastructures will be constructed in Glasgow for the games, the committee is also aiming to further encourage the impact that the games will have in both social and economic aspect of the city. It will be up to the city’s council to sustain the influence that the games will be giving the area. This aspect only seems to be focusing on giving the city a boost only during the games. Hosting the games will serve as the city’s stepping stone in acquiring more business opportunities. However, once the 2014 games come to an end, sustaining the influence of the games will be a task that the city council have upon them (Glasgow 2014, Ltd., 2010). The plans that have been laid out for the 2014 Games will definitely be beneficial to its host. This will boost the tourism for Glasgow and Clyde Gateway most especially. There will be infrastructures that will be built for the games and also housing projects as part of the event’s promotion. This is what the 2014 Games will leave to the city of Glasgow. Glasgow’s city council is up for a big task ahead of them once the games have come to its conclusion. While the promotions and planning for the games are still on its progression, sustaining the development would not be a too hard of a task. The concern will be more focused on the environmental aspect of the policy. Even the Clyde Gateway URC has stated targets which are more focused on the economic and population growth of the area. The Games Committee has been focusing also on the location where the games will be held. Plans for the needed sport venues have been put down. An area in Clyde Gateway will be used for housing projects and commercial establishment as part of the goal in acquiring billions from the private sector. Trees will be cut and a part of nature will be converted to a commercial area (Glasgow 2014, Ltd., 2010). While the executions of the plans are on-going, the environment is being sacrificed slowly. The plans for the city’s transformation have been published and are being carried through via hosting the 2014 Games. However, the only proposals of the games committee or the URC about the effects these plans will have on the environment are very minimal compared to the economic growth both organisations are aiming to achieve through the event. Climate change is also an environmental issue that the Organising Committee would also like to deal with. The policy had stated that the games will be utilising renewable energy sources which also have low carbon. This is a good way to start off the Games aside from the fact that it will contribute to the legacy of the locality and the country. The Commonwealth Games will definitely gain numerous praises as it will surely be a success. It will be gaining more commendation and be admired by other game events if it will be able to sustain the magnitude of the past games or even surpass the achievements by having less pollution in the whole duration of the event (Glasgow 2014, Ltd., 2010). Another aspect that the committee will ensure is the adaption of the best possible water resource management practice. If they would truly want to practice such, proposals should be tested to distinguish which would be the best as water is one of the necessities not just during game events but also in a person’s daily life. Once the best plan is discovered, it will definitely be a legacy. This is one aspect that can be sustained and yet also be a step in conserving the environment’s gifts to mankind (Glasgow 2014, Ltd., 2010). Fiona Grossart (2010) stated the legacy skills plan that the Glasgow Commonwealth Games are aiming for. There were 4 aspects that Grossart indicated in the skills plan. These factors however go to the basic economic theory of supply and demand. It was the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management who published the skills plan on how the 2014 Glasgow Games will achieve the legacy that the city and the committee are aspiring. However, with the plans that have been presented, there was not even the slightest notion on how the environment would be protected as the plans will be carried through. There is only one legacy that every single person who has lived in this planet has contributed to. The environment is the legacy that have been enjoyed by generations and yet still being abused, misused and destroyed by the same people who are benefiting from it. This is the legacy that is being neglected through the years. For others, the legacy that they would want to leave their family is a stable company or maybe a name that is known in different professional sectors. What these people have not thought of is that, all the legacies that have been gained will cease once the environment will stop existing. At the moment, the environment within the Clyde Gateway area is being preserved and being friendly with its population. However, are there any guarantees that the infrastructural plans and the so-called legacy skills plan will not do any damage to the physical nature of the city and the surrounding areas? In the proposal that was presented by Grossart and the Games Organising Committee, it was only with the policy submitted by the latter that stated a concern towards environmental condition. The concern may not be the priority of the Committee however at least there were concerns that have been expressed (Glasgow 2014, Ltd., 2010; Grossart, 2010). In the Grossart proposal, it was even stated that the legacy of the 2014 Glasgow Games would be the games itself. There were no notions that there should be a legacy that will pertain to the preservation of the environment. After the games, the legacy of the games will be the highlight of the city’s history. A city’s economic development can be sustained as long as there are investors willing to bring income generating business to a certain place. Will venture capitalists be encouraged to invest in a specific place with problematic environmental issues? The answer will be no. Therefore, for economic development to take place and be sustained, one of the factors needed to be considered is the condition of its surroundings. Targeted effects of the 2014 Games are to deliver investments from the private sector, to create more than 20,000 jobs for the local residents and to increase the area’s population. The URC also stated that housing projects will be made within the area. With the infrastructures that are going to be built, trees will be cut and lands used. Are there any propositions that have been made with regards to re-planting trees or planting new saplings so that the environment will still be preserved? In both published statements, neither Grossart URC nor the Games Organising Committee have stated any plans on replanting any trees or even just relocating plants that will be affected by the constructions of the buildings and housings just as stated by the committees (Glasgow 2014, Ltd., 2010; Grossart, 2010; Clyde Gateway URC, 2009). If the Organising Committee would stick to the policies that they have published, then at this point there should have been other statements released with regards to a contingency plan towards the environment structures that will be affected by the games. As for Grossart, if there will be a legacy that the games will be leaving, it should be one that will be more environmentally concerned as it is the best legacy that will be left by the present’s generation. Once the public would be more aware of what they have to do, sustaining the condition of the environment will be easier. It may take a while for these people to get used to. However, preserving the environment is better than aiming to repair something that has been too much damaged by ignorance of people. If the public will know of influential personas such as athletes who are concerned with the environment’s preservation, it would be more likely that these people will follow. Development does not mean that something is needed to be destroyed or sacrificed. True development is gaining more without sacrificing any. For the economy to be developed and societies to prosper, it does not necessarily means that the environment should be destroyed. The environment that today’s generation are seeing is just a glimpse of what it used to be. There have been mountains that have been blasted to make way for road constructions and fields have been transformed to industrial lands. The environment has been sacrificed so that development will be gained. But still development is something that only favours a few. It is always the upper classes who harvest the fruits of development and the lower classes remains where they are. True development can only be achieved when the number of hungry people will be lessened to minimum if not eradicated at all. It cannot be defined as a development when there are people who do not have decent foods on their table. This should be considered also and not just purely looking on the economic stature that reflects only the numbers which are desired to be seen. Sustaining development should not be purely based on economic data being presented. The development that would truly fulfil the word’s meaning in every sense would be a development being achieved and sustained without sacrificing a certain factor or factors just to make a mark in the world. As stated by the UN’s definition of sustainable development, it mentioned about the world’s poor. Development should be more focused towards the group who needs development more. It may not be a project that will turn a community’s lower class group upside down in an instant but it can be a proposal that will ensure a continuous progress in the class’ way of living (UN, 1987). Bibliography CityLegacy.Co.UK. City Legacy Consortium wins bid to build Glasgow 2014 Athletes Village [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company (2009) Clyde Gateway – A Whole New Approach to Regeneration for Bridgeton, Dalmarnock, Parkhead, Rutherglen and Shawfield. ClydeGatway.Com. Commonwealth Games Federation (2011) The Story of the Commonwealth Games [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Glasgow City Council (2010) Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Sustainability Plan [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Glasgow.Gov. UK (2010) Community Consultation Events to Consider Environmental Legacy from Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Glasgow 2014, Ltd. (2010) Environmental and Sustainability Policy [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Grossart, F. (2010) Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Legacy: May the Force be with You. ISRM. Halcrow (2011) Clyde Gateway, Scotland [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Manchester.Gov.UK (2012) Past Regeneration Programmes in Manchester [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Scott, J. (2009) Regeneration Process [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Scotland.Org (2011) Glasgow: City of Reality [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. The Telegraph (2012) Commonwealth Games 2010: Failings of Indian Approach There For All to See [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. United Nations (1987) Our Common Future, Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Wyatt, C. (2009) London Advised to Model 2012 Strategy on Manchester Commonwealth Games [Internet]. Available from: [accessed 04 February 2012]. Read More