Landscapes of Tourism: How Tourism Shapes Our Cities, Environments, and Infrastructure
This summer, over one million visitors, spectators, and athletes have gathered in the streets of Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The preparation for the event included massive investments into upgrading infrastructure, venues, and public spaces throughout the city and country. In addition to the restoration of Grande New de I’Île-des-Vannes venue, the Georges-Callerey Swimming Pool, and the Poissonniers Sports Center, the city has revealed new typologies of public services, such as the underground passage of the East Gardens of Trocadéro or the master plan for the Olympic Athletes Village by Dominique Perrault Architecture.
While the 2024 Olympic Games are the catalyst for citywide investment and urban restoration, the designers of the Olympic environments and infrastructure are planning for life, use, program, and regional identity after the athletes have left. Outside of the Olympic Games and the incredible visibility that the organization garners, there are hundreds of creative ways in which designers, planners, and policymakers are incorporating environments of tourism into the urban fabric of their city.