story by Claire Miller
College of Education & Human Development Assistant Professor Tim Kellison received a $10,000 grant from the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Studies Centre to examine how local residents prioritize environmental programs associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in their cities.
Kellison will be working with Seattle University Assistant Professor Brian McCullough on the grant project, entitled, “Cost and knowledge valuation of LA 2028’s environmental legacy.”
Los Angeles, Calif., will be the site for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the city’s planning committee has outlined specific sustainability initiatives it hopes to implement for both. Kellison and McCullough will use the grant funding to determine which elements of the Los Angeles 2028 sustainability plan local residents value most and observe how local residents’ environmental attitudes and behaviors change after the Olympics.
“Constructing competition venues, housing and roads can have an enormous effect on the environment, and getting athletes, officials and fans to an Olympic city has a significant environmental cost,” Kellison explained. “In Los Angeles and in other Olympic cities, local organizers continue to propose ambitious sustainability initiatives in bidding documents and event plans. We’re hoping the results of this study can be used to inform the policymakers and organizers of future Olympic cities working to design and deliver an Olympic and Paralympic Games with lasting impacts on their communities and their citizens.”
Kellison’s research focuses on the politics of public stadium financing, urban and regional planning, and environmentally sustainable design. He also leads the college’s Center for Sport and Urban Policy, which conducts research related to sport and environmental sustainability, public stadiums and urban development, and community engagement. For more information, visit https://kh.education.gsu.edu/csup.
For more information on the Olympic Studies Centre and its grant funding, visit https://www.olympic.org/news/2018-2019-advanced-olympic-research-grants-awarded.