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the2008olympicgamehasbeenthemostcheerfulandanticipatedeventthroughoutbeijingeversincebeijingwasrewardedtherighttohostthe2008summerolympicgames,yetthefocusshouldbeshiftedfrommakingapromisetofulfillingthepromisemade.
inmypointofview,tobridgethegapbetweenthepromiseandreality,beijingstillhasalongwaytogo.tobeginwith,infrastructureconstructionshouldbetheprimaryconcern.suchinfrastructuresasmunicationsandtransportationsystemandfacilitiesoughttodrawourconstantattention.first,trafficjamhasbeenanageoldheadacheinbeijing.thesceneoflongqueuesofvehicleswormingtheirwayinchbyinchwillsurelycausegreatincontinence,andblemishtheimageofthecitymeanwhile.next,toaddenchantmenttoconvenience,overallcityplanningisindispensable.timepermitting,aredesignofcitylayoutandadjustmentofarchitecturalstylewouldprovideabetterenvironmentforfosteringthecharacteristic,blending,orientalelegancewithinternationalgrandeur,willtoweraloftamongsurroundingarchitectures.toachievesucheffect,beijingshallsolicitopinionsfromfirstratearchitectsandmakeanoverallplan.thirdly,qualityofthepopulationshouldbeimproved.tomakeaninternationalmetropolis,both“hardware”and“software”areimportant.
however,romewasnotbuiltinaday.tocarryoutthepromiseof“newbeijing,greatolympics”,deedsspeaklouderthanwords.biddingforandhostingtheolympicssuessfullyis,perhaps,theultimategloryforacity.however,beforetransformingthedreamintoreality,thebenefitsanddrawbacksofbiddingfortheolympicsshouldbeweighedcarefully.
hostingtheolympicssurelywouldbringaboutmuchgaintoacity.boomofthelocaleconomy,morejobs,andthepossibilityofgeneratingineallsoundextremelyattractivetothemunicipalgovernment.atthesametime,betterinfrastructure,cleanerenvironment,enjoyingthespectaculargamewithhundredsofsportselitesandentertainmentstars,andtheopportunityofcontactingpeoplefromallovertheworldalsoseemexcitingtothecitizens.besides,thebiddingwilldefinitelypromotethepatrioticemotionandpride,aswellasthemoralbehaviorinlocalpeople.inmostcases,biddingfortheolympicsiswellsupportedbyboththepublicandthecentralgovernment.unfortunately,thisisnottheentireviewoftheprettypicture.iflookingfromanotherangle,theolympicbidmightbringaboutsomeside-effectstoacity.
firstofall,theenvironmentalimpacts,includingtheincreasingexhaustfumesofcars,morepressureonwaterresources,hugeamountofwastedleafletsandothermaterialsusedforpublicactivities,aremostprobablyneglected.inordertobroadenthestreets,sometreesmayhavetobecut.neartheconstructionsite,thetinydustmaylingerintheairforalongtime.reductionoffarmlandmaybecausedbytheneedofsettingupnewsportscentreoraommodationfacilities.theseenvironmentalconsequencescanbeespeciallyseriousinaresource-limitedanddensely-populatedcityinathird-worldcountry.
besides,iftalkingabouttheeconomicbenefit,itshouldnotbefottenthataquickboostingmayleadtobubblegrowth,whichmayeasilycrash.ifnotwellmanagedandanized,thebigeventmaynotbesoprofitable,andthenewfacilitiesmaybeforeveremptyafterthegames.yes,therehavebeencasesthathostcitiesendedupwithenormousdebts.
finally,let’sthinkaboutthelow-inegroupsinthecity.whatwilltheygetfromtheolympicsbidding?moretax,morefees,moreexpensivepropertyprices,andhighercostofliving.thesedefinitelyarenotgoodnewsforthem.
tobidornotto,thisisaquestion.itisuptothechoiceofthemunicipalgovernment,andthelocalpublic.afterthedecision,whattheycandoistomakethemostofthebenefit,andreducethedrawbackstotheleast.