Transformative Approaches for Post-Olympic Adaptation in Urban Environments: From Olympic Village to Resilient Community

Whilst Olympics are increasingly practiced as catalyst to enhance the urban environment, projecting the long-term adaptability remains challenging as it is a dynamic product of urban planning and physical activities. Notable examples from Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024 demonstrate their roles in fostering sustainable urban development, while the potential to drive climate-responsive urban adaptation remains vague and untested.

This study investigates the approaches of adaptation of Milan Olympic Village, highlighting how such initiatives can create dynamic, multifunctional spaces that integrate green infrastructure. Known as the Scalo di Porta Romana project, this approach aims to rejuvenate a long-deserted community in Milan, Italy. The transformative approaches contribute to the Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) standards of zero environmental impact, representing a forward-thinking model for integrating sustainability into urban resilience. Incorporating results were valid from interviews with residents, urban planners, and experts, , alongside an analysis of municipal planning documents and Olympic reports.

Finding reveals three key insights: (a) Olympic village can be effectively transformed into a demand-driven, behavior-centric system that enhance climate resilience, particularly when its location is not restricted to areas close to competition zones; (b) the resilience roots on early and ongoing community engagement combined with regional development plans; (c) the effectiveness of planning could be maximized by bottom-up initiatives, which better aligns with community needs with broader climate adaptation goals.

In conclusion, the adaptability of Olympic villages for conversion to residential use significantly mitigates the risk of stagnation compared to other Olympic facilities. Upcoming events introduce a new paradigm of resilient community by prioritizing sustainable approach over benefits limited to athletes and event-related stakeholders.