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Welcome.
This website provides an overview of my research interests, teaching philosophy and experience, and community projects. I investigate the relationships among citizens, organizations, and the academy in order to better understand and mobilize the use of new and existing knowledge to create healthy and sustainable communities.
Below is a sample of my work. Feel free to check out the rest of my website for more information.
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News.
Current research projects
This Olympic Games Impact (OGI) study
2008-2013
I am in charge of the Olympic Games Impact (OGI) project for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (2010 Winter Games). OGI is mandated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The purpose of OGI is to measure the impact of future Olympic and Paralympic Games through a consistent and comparable reporting system.
To learn more about this and my other research projects, please see the Research page.
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Recent sample publication
Excerpt from the conclusions section of:
VanWynsberghe, Robert, Bjoern Surborg and Elvin Wyly. (Accepted 2011). Neo-liberalism, social inclusion, and mega-events: the Case of 2010. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research: Volume and pages TBD.
"A central component of neoliberal urbanism entails a shift from the delivery of public services to various forms of private-sector innovations designed to achieve social change through market incentives. The Vancouver [Olympic] Games exemplify this shift in some fairly predictable ways; but Vancouver’s experience also provides compelling evidence that progressive local political cultures can be co-opted into an accelerating market entrepreneurialism, giving rise to a new hybrid of local politics pursued by a growing number of hopeful mega-event host cities. . . . Preferences for addressing employment and training possibilities, rather than mitigating the negative impacts of the Games are evidence of neoliberal impulses in the planning process for the 2010 Winter Games. However, it must be recognized that these policies and their implementation also reflect the longstanding traditions of liberal societies that have shifted away from state interference over the last few generations, yet have in essence long remained deeply rooted in a few major principles such as progress, and social order. . . . Whether or not sustainability is part of a neoliberal ideology is an increasingly important question, and its use by Olympic hosts must be compared and contrasted to the persistent liberal messages in the Olympic movement."
To see the full list of my publications, please go to the Publications page.
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Upcoming courses
Fall 2011
EDST 516: Adult education and community
Thematic focus: Learning for social change
The course is a theoretical and applied effort to learn about the role of learning in promoting social change in the community.
For more information on this course and other courses I have taught, please see the Teaching + Mentoring page.
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Recent media coverage
Podcast. 2009. How Will the 2010 Games Affect the Environmental, Social and Economic Vitality of our Communities? Presentation to the UBC Alumni, April 1, in Richmond, Canada.
To see all my media coverage, please go to the Media page.
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- W. H. Auden