Creating Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

On behalf of the Games, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) devised a transport plan, developed legislation in relation to advertising and trading during the games, and coordinated the planning and construction of Olympic Park. The latter included legacy features such as facilities, bridges, roads, an energy infrastructure, and the landscape development of 250 acres of parklands.

The ODA met the deadline for the Olympic Games.It was dissolved as scheduled in December 2014.As stated in the final ODA report, the work was completed in six years and came in under budget. It was described as "a success."

The ODA's success, according to the report, had depended upon managing complexities that could only be done through teamwork and boldness.

In 2012 the Legacy Corporation, a mayoral entity led by community leaders, was formed to manage the Olympic Park area and to extend legacy planning and development into the future with the help of a ten-year plan and private partnerships. Mayoral authorities promised this was only the beginning.

Legacy planning for London's 2012 Olympics was described as “going to war.” The competitive plan called for flexible engineering and design. A fixed deadline had to be met even while providing an infrastructure for a future residential and commercial community and parklands

Legacy development came in under budget and without industrial accidents.

There were novel engineering feats and innovative architectural creations. The planning process was transparent. An independent commission was established to monitor and publicly evaluate sustainability efforts.

Sustainability efforts included facilities built or reconstituted through the reuse of existing materials to reduced the carbon footprint. As an example, the Olympic Stadium became the lightest stadium ever built. It was partially built with old pipes rather than manufacturing new ones. As a consequence, the stadium was not a perfect circle because of reused materials. However, it was beautiful, unique and sustainable.

Some structures were designed to be permanently unchanged. Other structures such as the aquatic center were designed for future modification.

By most accounts, the infrastructure created in one of the bleakest areas of London set a new sustainability standard for development. The Olympian “Legacy Mode” transformed London’s neglected East End.The widespread improvements as a consequence of the Olympic 2012 games was viewed internationally as a potential model for future Olympic planning.

After 17 days, the crowds that had gathered in East London for the Games were gone. The site was dominated by bulldozers and mud and catacombs of plywood.

In preparation for the Olympics, more than 12,000 people had been hired to work on the Olympic Park and Olympic Village. Subsequent to the Games, a workforce of 15,000 people began the transformation of the athletes’ accommodation into a community called East Village, which included the conversion of 2,818 apartments and townhouses of structures that had housed Olympic athletes.

More than 10,000 new households were planned to be completed by 2030. Five new neighborhoods would feature green spaces and public squares. Residences, in the tradition of London’s Georgian and Victorian squares and terraces, would overlook the parklands and waterways. Walkable neighborhoods would include play areas, schools, community spaces, and shops. The neighborhoods would be firmly linked to the city of London, including a link to a crossrail. Around a third of the promised units would be affordable housing, with many of them built for long-term rent as well as to buy.

Critics might admit that there are mature and elegant design features to Olympic Park, but many critics remain skeptical given what has been done so far. The cost of hosting the Olympics was more than the available development money. Lives were disrupted and some people lost their homes. There was no guarantee that low income housing will be sustained. So, was eight years of producing concrete and steel worth a pristine landscape? On one hand, the Park has become a destination point for family and tourists. On the other hand, critics cite gray prison-like residential buildings, most of which are owned by the Qatari royal family. As development began, one blogger described the emerging East Village as “soulless” with little sense of human scale and a march toward mediocrity…”strip away all the festive colours… and you'll find that these are actually mean-minded silos of tightly packed one-bedroom flats, mostly sold overseas for buy-to-let.”

Around a third of the promised units would be affordable housing, with many of them built for long-term rent as well as to buy.

There are a number of critics who while, admitting there are mature and elegant design features to Olympic Park, are highly skeptical given what has been done so far. Was eight years of concrete and steel worth the now pristine landscape? They cite gray prison-like residential buildings, most of which are owned by the Qatari royal family. One blogger described the emerging East Village as “soulless” with little sense of human scale and a march toward mediocrity…”strip away all the festive colours… and you'll find that these are actually mean-minded silos of tightly packed one-bedroom flats, mostly sold overseas for buy-to-let.”

in 2019 complaints that affordable housing was not delivered. Thousands of homes were put on the market at unaffordable rates. Only a few hundred homes could be considered affordable.

Critics claimed that "sustainable" had not been defined in human terms when when it came to local interests. The metrics were in terms of popular buildings and were defined by hits on instagram, not in the context of overall good for all development.