[00:14.88]The Olympics represents the noble ideal of sports overcoming the barriers of politics
[00:21.18]with champion athletes of all nations gathering in the spirit of sportsmanship.
[00:26.97]However, the stakes go beyond who wins the gold medal. Shortly after each competition,
[00:33.78]nations begin to vie afresh for the bid to host the next game.
[00:39.06]Winning the vote to host is not merely an honor, it is a political conquest in global recognition.
[00:46.36]It also spins revenue from the influx of tourists, participants and Olympic related paraphernalia.
[00:54.52]However, all that glitters is not gold. For some residents of Beijing,
[00:59.89]the site of Olympic 2008, the impact of winning the bid cuts deep and far into their personal lives.
[01:08.66]The capital is expecting to pour billions of dollars into sports facilities and related upgrades such as roads,
[01:16.07]public transport, landscaping and sanitation. For the bustling city of bicycles and traffic jams tucked among imperial relics,
[01:26.16]the Olympics is an opportunity for urban renewal.
[01:30.09]Yet for those within the areas, something must give way to make room for the model Olympic Village.
[01:37.24]Decades of family homes will be uprooted and dispersed among apartments on the outskirts of the city.
[01:44.29]Although modern plumbing and sanitation will replace chamber pots,
[01:49.02]the move is an upheaval of a community and its way of life and social dynamics.
[01:55.13]It will be interesting to follow up on those and study the effects of the transplant.
[02:01.43]The Olympics upgrades are not disposable stage props that can be easily discarded after the show.
[02:08.10]Experts are afraid that without the heartbeat of ordinary people dwelling in the ancient city,
[02:14.09]the high tech Olympic City would become culturally dry.
[02:18.37]Careful urban planning and stringent regulations such as building restrictions
[02:23.43]can preserve the impression of an intact neighborhood.
[02:27.06]Nevertheless, without the residents, aesthetic is lost and only the facade remains,
[02:33.27]waiting to be filled by tourists and businesses.
[02:37.24]Nonetheless who can begrudge anyone a more comfortable living environment?
[02:42.12]Even without the Olympics, can the drumbeat of modernization be stopped?
[02:47.44]And whether the changes are for better or worse,
[02:50.67]who should presume to judge such things other than those whose lives bear the brunt of the impact?
