Research Explores 'Development and Dreams'

Karen MacGregor
The 2010 FIFA world cup inspired one of the largest consolidated research exercises in South Africa in years. Culminating in a 2009 book, Development and Dreams, the research found the economic benefits of the global tournament had been wildly over-stated but its infrastructure and social legacies would be considerable, said co-editor Dr Udesh Pillay.
Development and Dreams: The urban legacy of the 2010 World Cup pulled together four years of research co-funded by the Development Bank of Southern Africa and led by the Centre for Service Delivery of the Human Sciences Research Council, or HSRC, which published the book. Pillay is the centre's director.
The FIFA 2010 World Cup Research Project combined academic and applied research. The academic component aimed to enhance understanding of mega events and urban development, in South Africa and internationally, through research conducted by the HSRC in collaboration with the Centre for Urban and Built Environment Studies (CUBES) at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Studies were commissioned into urban development experiences and lessons learned from other mega sporting events, the South African World Cup bid and its governance, integration of planning into the strategic frameworks of host cities and their efforts to enhance their images, urban regeneration and the legacy dimension of the tournament, among other aspects.
The applied work contributed to the planning of host cities and conducted public perception surveys from 2005 to 2007, based on 3,000 respondents, to benchmark attitudes towards the World Cup.
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Source: University World News, Issue No: 0128, 13 June 2010