Phil Cohen Works

East London and Post Olympics

London 2012  and the Post Olympic City- A Hollow Legacy ?

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Edited by Phil Cohen and Paul Watt Published Palgrave Macmillan  May 2017 ISBN 987-1-137-48946-3 The strap line for 2012 was ‘Inspire a Generation’, and with the advent of the Rio Games a new chapter in Olympic history is  being  written – now is the time  to both look back and forward , and reach a considered verdict about how far that promise has … [Read more...] about London 2012  and the Post Olympic City- A Hollow Legacy ?

SPEAKING OUT OF PLACE : reflections on London’s post Olympic legacy

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Q: Who said: ‘As a microcosm of what we hope to achieve,  look at the Olympics and their Legacy....We have set ourselves the goal of ‘convergence’.  The idea is that kids growing up in East London should have the same life chances as anywhere else. There is no reason why the kids of East London should not benefit from, say, rugby, as much as the kids from Richmond. After two … [Read more...] about SPEAKING OUT OF PLACE : reflections on London’s post Olympic legacy

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID : REVIEWS OF ‘ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACK’

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'From its delirious counter-factual opening, through a cavalcade of arguing and asserting voices, a necessary, intelligent, and balanced response to a moment of local and national hallucination is achieved. If the book works, the Olympic madness can serve a useful purpose: in making us look harder at ourselves and the place where we have chosen to live.'   Iain Sinclair … [Read more...] about WHAT THE CRITICS SAID : REVIEWS OF ‘ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACK’

This is East 20? Urban fabrication and the re-making of Olympic Park 

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  Introduction The Olympic Park has been  defined in many different ways :as a ‘lieu de memoire’ for Olympophiles, a  vision of the future city,   a local public amenity for East Enders, a global  visitor destination, a major  venue  for sports enthusiasts, and  the location of a series of residential neighbourhood eventually housing over 20,000 people. How can … [Read more...] about This is East 20? Urban fabrication and the re-making of Olympic Park