Olympics Eating London Farmland

100-year-old plots of organic farmland in east London are in line to be bulldozed to make room for development of facilities for the 2012 Olympics -- a four-week-long event.

1 minute read

February 13, 2007, 12:00 PM PST

By Nate Berg


"People of all ages, ethnic groups and social classes come here to garden, cook, eat, swap plants, share food, barbecue and party. Eighty plots feed 150 families all through the summer. All organic, no food miles, no packaging. They have a farmers' market, plant sale and schoolchildren from the stinking inner city come here to learn where food comes from. It's a small but shining example of what life could be like."

"But bad luck, it's in the middle of the Olympic site, so it's going to be bulldozed and turned into a concourse between stadiums for 2012. A hundred years of allotment for four weeks of pathway. Imagine the scene last week - the tranquillity of the snow-clad allotments, surrounded by monster diggers and cranes waiting to gobble it up."

"But there is a Legacy Plan. The allotments can come back after the Olympics. Just like that. No, the allotments can't be designed around or incorporated. Why not? Can't they stay and show how green England aspires to be, then be part of the regeneration/parkland afterwards? No. Because there's another reason for razing it to the ground: security, according to our mayor."

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 in The Guardian Unlimited

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 14, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

Cars driving under automatic congestion pricing toll machines on Broadway next to the Trump International Hotel in Manhattan, New York City.

Data reveals that NYC’s bet on congestion pricing has paid off

After almost two years of the program, reports show positive impacts on traffic and air quality and no disruptions to parking.

October 13, 2026 - Marcelo Remond

A crane lifts a manufactured house, with is rectangular and does not yet have a roof.

HUD modernizes 50-year-old manufactured housing framework

The Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan establishes new energy-efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and new guidelines for anchoring them.

October 8, 2026 - Boston Real Estate Times

construction workers on the roof of a house.

California voters weigh $11.25 billion housing bond

Prop. 1, combined with other funding, would support over 40,000 new rental units in California.

October 18 - Cal Matters

MIRA President Tom Kirk gestures at the opening ceremony of the solar array at the Hartford Landfill. There are rows of solar panels behind him.

Connecticut is turning landfills into green infrastructure

Twenty-nine solar arrays have been built, or approved to be built, on top of Connecticut landfills.

October 18 - The CT Mirror

Sheep in a field stand next to solar panels.

Trump guts ‘win-win’ solar energy program for rural farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s changes have made virtually all solar power ineligible for funding through the Rural Energy for America Program.

October 18 - Grist