Revisiting the legacy of Tehran's Olympic Village: Residents' perspectives 50 years after the 1974 Asian Games

Abstract

The 1974 Asian Games marked Iran's first and only experience hosting a sporting mega-event. This paper revisits the legacy of its primary residential site, Tehran's Olympic Village, fifty years later by examining current residents' perspectives on the neighborhood. The goal is to understand how residents today evaluate and make sense of the Village in their everyday lives, offering insight into the lived legacy of this former spectacle space. The primary method involved semi-structured interviews with fifteen residents, triangulated with multi-phase field observations and extensive document analysis. Interviews were coded through the lens of Olympic Villages typological framework and analyzed thematically. The discussion draws on Post-Occupancy Evaluation as an interpretive lens to assess how long-term resident experience reflects changes in built form, environmental quality, social life, governance and services, and the neighborhood changes and meaning. Findings reveal a dual legacy: while the Village still benefits from durable construction, thoughtful spatial design, and a strong historical memory, residents face challenges including deteriorating infrastructure, weakening neighborhood identity, and declining local governance. The area's layout and natural setting remain notable assets, but its distinctiveness is increasingly fragile due to later developments and municipal disengagement. As a case that spans pre- and post-revolutionary urban development in Tehran, the Village reflects how mega-event spaces can drift from their original purpose when not actively maintained. Ultimately, the study argues that urban legacy is not self-sustaining. It requires active stewardship, community recognition, and sustained planning to transform spaces of spectacle into lasting places for everyday life.