Julie Clark

Pathways to a physical activity legacy: Assessing the regeneration potential of multi-sport events using a prospective approach:

Urban regeneration is now commonly cited as the rationale for hosting multi-sport events. However, the concept of legacy arising from these events is contested and the evidence base in relation to benefits for the host community is weak, especially in respect of increasing physical activity and sports participation. A theory-based assessment framework is developed to provide a robust prospective assessment of the likely impacts of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on physical activity for the host community in the East End of the city. We identify scope for change, anticipated causal pathways, and propose supporting physical activity through better designed environments as a means of generating legacy benefits at population level.

Spatial scale, time and process in mega-events: The complexity of host community perspectives on neighbourhood change

A focus on the ‘mega’ aspect of hallmark events can divert attention from the micro – those local communities who are most impacted by the event. Similarly, attention to the ‘event’ aspect underplays the long process of bidding and preparation before any putative legacy of urban transformation for local people. This paper uses qualitative data to unpack the complex and multi-layered views of local residents, living in a deprived neighbourhood beside the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games site in Scotland. They reflect on five years of intensive urban regeneration, evaluate the experience of ‘lockdown’ at Games time, and consider their hopes and fears for the future of the community. Interviewing a mixture of lifelong, established, new and returning residents, we found considerable common ground across the different groups in terms of hopes for a new, mixed community in the area. However, findings also highlight concerns around urban governance practices and the limitations of a market-led approach to regeneration.

Smoking and intention to quit in deprived areas of Glasgow: is it related to housing improvements and neighbourhood regeneration because of improved mental health?

Background People living in areas of multiple deprivation are more likely to smoke and less likely to quit smoking. This study examines the effect on smoking and intention to quit smoking for those who have experienced housing improvements (HI) in deprived areas of Glasgow, UK, and investigates whether such effects can be explained by improved mental health. Methods Quasi-experimental, 2-year longitudinal study, comparing residents’ smoking and intention to quit smoking for HI group (n=545) with non-HI group (n=517), adjusting for baseline (2006) sociodemographic factors and smoking status. SF-12 mental health scores were used to assess mental health, along with self-reported experience of, and General Practitioner (GP) consultations for, anxiety and depression in the last 12 months. Results There was no relationship between smoking and HI, adjusting for baseline rates (OR=0.97, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.67, p=0.918). We found an association between intention to quit and HI, which remained significant after adjusting for sociodemographics and previous intention to quit (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.12 to 4.16, p=0.022). We found no consistent evidence that this association was attenuated by improvement in our three mental health measures. Conclusions Providing residents in disadvantaged areas with better housing may prompt them to consider quitting smoking. However, few people actually quit, indicating that residential improvements or changes to the physical environment may not be sufficient drivers of personal behavioural change. It would make sense to link health services to housing regeneration projects to support changes in health behaviours at a time when environmental change appears to make behavioural change more likely.

Going for gold: A prospective assessment of the economic impacts of the Commonwealth Games 2014 on the East End of Glasgow

Host cities have increasingly sought to combine the staging of a multi-sports event with the regeneration of run-down areas. Like London 2012, Glasgow has sought to use the Commonwealth Games 2014 as a catalyst for the physical, social and economic renewal of its East End. This paper presents a novel approach to the assessment of legacy for a host community which recognises the complexity of potential impacts, without assuming a trickle-down effect to the local area. This comprises a holistic approach to evaluation, encompassing consideration of plausibility, the specifics of people and place, and legacy programmes. Three requirements for sustained economic legacy impacts for the host community are identified: continued and extended partnership working at a strategic level; extending the scope and duration of legacy programmes beyond that required for the event itself; resolving inherent tensions between delivering legacy at different spatial scales, and ensuring the equitable treatment of disadvantaged areas.