The Impacts of Mega-Events on Urbanization
Since the 1960s, large-scale events have risen internationally as agents of urban change, in line with the broader shifts towards a more globalized, experience-based economy. Such events, commonly referred to as mega-events,1 are utilized by urban policymakers as tools to attract foreign investment, promote the host city globally, and to catalyze urban development. While at times successful at garnering international recognition and foreign investment, international mega-events, as well as their correlated urban transformations, are often not possible without legal exceptions created to facilitate their hosting. This research delves into the impacts of such events on cities and urban governance.
Our work on mega-events includes the following:
Gogishvili, D., & Harris-Brandts, S. (2019). Coinciding Practices of Exception in Urban Development: Sports Events and Special Economic Zones. European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis.
Gogishvili, D. (2017). The Eventful Turn: Baku and Mega-Event Led Urban Changes. Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
Gogishvili, D. (2018). Baku formula 1 city circuit: exploring the temporary spaces of exception. Cities, 74, 169-178.
Gogishvili, D. (2021). Urban infrastructure in the framework of mega-event exceptionalism: Glasgow and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Urban Geography, 1-24.
Full list of research
GRANTS
SSHRC Insight Development Grant
2023-2025
Harris-Brandts, S. (applicant), Sichinava, D. (co-applicant), Gogishvili, D. (collaborator).
“Megaproject Mirages: Uncovering the Politico-Economic Uses of Speculative Eco-flagships in the ‘Global East’”
PUBLICATIONS
Gogishvili, D. (2023). Mega-Event on the Streets: The Formula 1 Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan. In Mariotti, J. & Leetmaa, K. (Eds.) The History and Politics of Motor Racing: Lives in the Fast Lane. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 665-690.
Müller, M., Gogishvili, D, Wolfe, S.D. (2022). The structural deficit of the Olympics and the World Cup: Comparing costs against revenues over time. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space. 54(6): 1200-1218.
Müller, M., Gogishvili, D, Wolfe, S.D, Gaffney, C., Hug, M., Leick, A. (2022). Peak Event: The rise and potential decline of the Olympic Games and the World Cup. Tourism Management. 95: 1-32.
Gogishvili, D., & Harris-Brandts, S. (2022). The Urban Impacts of Second-tier Mega-Events in the Global East: The European Youth Olympic Festival in the South Caucasus. In Bignami, F., & Cuppini, N. (Eds.) Mega-Events, Urban Transformations and Social Citizenship: A Multi-Disciplinary Analysis for Epistemological Foresight. 94-113. London, UK: Routledge.
Müller, M., & Gogishvili, D. (2022). What makes an event a mega-event? Definitions and sizes. In Hanakata, N., Bignami, F. Cuppini, N. (Eds). Mega events, urban transformations and social citizenship: a multi-disciplinary analysis for an epistemological foresight. 10-26. London, UK: Routledge.
Gogishvili, D. (2021). Urban infrastructure in the framework of mega-event exceptionalism: Glasgow and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Urban Geography, 1-24.
Müller, M., Wolfe, S.D., Gogishvili, D, Gaffney, C., Hug, M., Leick, A. (2021). The Mega-Events Database: Systematising the Evidence on Mega-Event Outcomes. Leisure Studies. 41(3): 437-445
Müller, M., Wolfe, S.D, Gaffney, C., Gogishvili, D., Hugh, M., Leick, A. (2021). How (un)sustainable are the Olympic Games?. Nature Sustainability. 4: 340–348.
Wolfe, S.D, Gogishvili, D., Chapplet, J.L., Müller, M. (2020). The urban and economic impacts of megaevents: Mechanisms of change in global games. Sport in Society. 25(10): 2079-2087.
Gogishvili, D., & Harris-Brandts, S. (2019). Coinciding Practices of Exception in Urban Development: Sports Events and Special Economic Zones. European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis.
Pasquinelli, C., Koukoufikis, G., & Gogishvili, D. (2019). Beyond eventification: capacity building in post-disaster temporariness. Journal of Place Management and Development.
Gogishvili, D. (2018). Baku formula 1 city circuit: exploring the temporary spaces of exception. Cities, 74, 169-178.
Gogishvili, D. (2017). The Eventful Turn: Baku and Mega-Event Led Urban Changes. Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.