Question:

The theme is international expositions like Shanghai expo, Expo of Sevilla (Spain) or international expo of Zaragoza (Spain) for example, where a lot of countries present their ideas or culture in different pavilions. The literature review have to focus much more in this one, Expo Zaragoza �08.
The idea is to see if is profitable for the city in terms of new infrastructure built for the expo, if the tourism received by the city during and after the expo is more than before, the business of the hotels, if was good in terms of economy and some more relevant information.
Is interesting to put some data of other cities to contrast them, but the project is focused in the Expo Zaragoza �08.

Answer:

Title: International Expos: Expo Zaragoza 08

Summary

This paper explores international expositions including the Expo of Sevilla, the Shanghai Expo, the Hanova Expo, and the Expo Zaragoza 2008, with the aim of determining whether these expos are profitable to the cities that host them. This literature review focuses largely on Expo Zaragoza 2008, and the aim is to determine whether it was profitable to the city in terms of infrastructure, improvement of the economy, a boost to tourism, as well as hotel businesses.

The literature begins with a highlight on the history of expos, followed by a general assessment of the benefits of expos to host cities. Focus is then directed towards the relevance of expos to economies, in which case there is reference to the so-called ‘expo economies’. Then there is an analysis of the impact of expos on city’s infrastructure, whereby the expos explored include the Shanghai expo 2010, Lisbon Expo 1998, Hanover Expo 2000, and Zaragoza Expo 2008.

With regard to the Expo Zaragoza 2008, the aspects considered include the situation before and after the expo and the ways in which the Zaragoza Expo 2008 contributed to urban development. In conclusion, expos are seen to undoubtedly contribute to the development of the cities that host them, although in some of the Expos, including Expo Zaragoza there is scanty literature qualitative literature to show the extent to which these benefits of urbanization have been achieved. It is clear, though, that these benefits have a lot to do with sustainable development. Moreover, available literature seems to have captured in the most vivid manner the benefits of the Hanover Expo 2000, which the scholars attribute to the move by the government to capitalize on the expo by commissioning various landmark commercial developments.

Introduction

International expos have a rich history that has been shaping up as part of human history. The World Expo has been not just a demonstration of the fruitful achievement of various times, but also a reflection of people’s intricate understanding of culture, science and technology, industry, and ethnicity. Similarly, the World Expo has been a significant indicator of the way in which people have been making changes and advancements in the way they evaluate civilization.

One key aspect of expositions has been the association with different aspects of development in cities (De Groote 2005, p. 16). They are unanimously viewed as a source of profitability by positively influencing the development of new infrastructure as well as sustainable urban planning frameworks. Different international expositions, such as the international Expo of Zaragoza, the Expo of Sevilla, and the Shanghai Expo, provide excellent platforms on which different ideas and cultures are showcased.

This literature reviews focuses on different international expos and their influence on various facets of development in the cities where they are held. However, most of the focus is directed towards the Expo Zaragoza 08. The literature review explores the extent of tourist-related activities received by the host cities both before and after the expos, the influence on the hotel and hospitality industry, and the impact of expos on the economy in general. A contrast is made between different expos in terms of their benefits to the host cities.

History of expos

Modern international expos may be said to be products of the industrial revolution. Originally, the intent of these expos was to showcase the achievements that different countries had made in industrial revolution (Abrahamson 2004, p. 159). The London World Expo of 1851 is universally acknowledged as the first World Expo of the modern era (Hunt 2005, p. 82). In this expo, ten countries were invited to make presentations in the event that lasted 160 days, attracting 6.3 million visitors. Traditionally, the London Expo does not entail any direct transactions, a practice that ended up being inherited in future expos.

Apart from the London Expo, there was also the Exposition Universelle in Paris almost half a century later (Breheny 1992, p. 19). This expo was termed ‘Evaluation of a Century’ and it inherited the tradition of focusing too much on technological issues that had been achieved during the 19^th century (Friedmann 1986, p. 372). In the Paris Expo, some 48.1 million people attended. This by far exceeded the number of visitors who had attended previous expos. Since the Paris Expo, technology started fading out of the center of future expos. It success was not experienced during the first half of the 20^th century.

The Chicago Expo of 1933 was quite a significant event in the development of international expos. At the time that this expo was held, America was recovering from the Great Depression. Moreover, Chicago was celebrating its 100^th anniversary. Some 38.3 million people attended this expo, which attracted participation from 47 countries (Friedmann 1997, p. 201). Most importantly, two key creations made in this expo were inherited in future expos. The first creation involved giving the Expo a theme – ‘A Century of Progress’. Henceforth, every expo must have a theme that is officially declared. The second creation involved building pavilions at the Expo Site. In the Chicago Expo, the pavilions enabled large corporations, including renowned auto manufacturers like Chrysler, Ford, and GM, to build dedicated pavilions. This practice ended up being welcomed by both visitors and entrepreneurs in future expos.

The Brussels Expo was equally significant from a historical point of view. This expo was held at a time when people were trying to rebuild their homes after the end of the World War II. Being the first Expo after the World War II, the organizers saw it fit to come up with the theme: ‘A World view – A New Humanism’. This theme was a symbol of a shift in emphasis from technology-related ideas to humanism.

In 1970, The Osaka Expo was held in Osaka, Japan. This expo drew the attendance of 76 countries, and it came a time when Japan was focusing on national revival and economic development after being defeated in the World War II. This expo was largely significant because of the way it improved Osaka’s fortunes in terms of transport development, business facilities, cultural exchange facilities, tourism, and high-end residential communities. The expo is also associated with the rise of the Kansai-region city cluster, which is centered within Osaka. In this way, the expo is seen to have contributed greatly to the country’s national economy. This achievement was phenomenal, considering that this was the first expo to be held in an Asian country.

In 1988, the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) moved in to reclassify the World Expo into recognized expositions and registered expositions depending on their nature, exhibition period, and scale. A registered exposition, initially known as a Universal Exposition, is essentially a comprehensive exposition operating under a specific theme at the pavilion that should have been built by the participating country, and it should last for at most six months without any areas limitations in terms with regard to the site. A recognized exposition, originally known as a Specialized Exposition, on the other hand, highlights issues of professionalism like environment protection, ecology, chemical engineering, and medicine, and it ought to last at most three months and the site should be of at most 25 hectares, in which pavilions should be provided free of charge to all participating countries. Since 1995, the stipulation has been for a registered exposition to be held after every five years. It is also allowable for a recognized exposition to be held between two registered ones.

It may be argued that the move from the 20^th to the 21^st century marked a transition among people from a state of subjugation to that of respect. Other than the development of cities themselves, international expos started paying attention to the entire planet and global issues such as environmental protection and ecological preservation.

For the Expo 2000 Hanover, the organizers decided to choose the topic of protection of resources (Dai 2006, p. 37). In line with a growing trend, the 2005 Aichi Expo Japan went under the theme ‘Nature’s Wisdom’. The Aichi Expo presented an entirely global perspective and it was a reflection of the people’s attitudes towards nature, their society, and the future. Then came the Expo Zaragoza 2008, the latest globally recognized expo to take place. It was a great global event whose theme emphasized the dynamic relationship between water and the human society. This expo started as a global supportive program whose theme was ‘water and sustainability’.

By and large, expo organizers of the 21^st century appear keen to review the process of how people are making use of their technology and wisdom to establish a reconnection with nature, from which they have for a long time been moving away. This desire was recently clearly expressed in the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, whose theme was ‘Better City, Better Life’ (Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, 2010a, p. 11).

Benefits of expos to host cities

Expos, being top events of mankind during the times of peace, provide an excellent record of contemporary civilization while at the same time looking at future development (Girardet 2004, p. 92). Through these expositions, new products, technologies, knowledge, ideas and cultures are exchanged at the international level (Chiu 2000, p. 45).

One of the benefits regards relevance to the development of science and technology (Hall 2000, p. 103). Owing to improvements in science and technology, many expos have started being used as a platform for promoting sustainable application of this knowledge. Many products and ideas have in the past made their debut in expos, thereby offering people opportunities for thinking of ways of using different technologies sustainably. Some of the technologies that made their way into the limelight through expos include rubber, the steam engine, telephone, automobile, TV, and sewing machine (Chiu 2003, p. 204). Moreover, expos made it possible for people to become familiar with the digitized economy, public networks, computer science, modern biotechnology, human genome research, among other important inventions. The Eiffel Tower, which was constructed for the 1889 Paris Expo, became a most famous landmark for the world. More recently, the stone that American astronauts had taken from the moon was an appealing item during the 1970 Osaka Expo.

Relevance of expos to economies

All the expos that have been held in mankind’s history have involved bringing together of various kinds of factors of production in a single are and at a particular time. The aim of this undertaking has always been to optimize the way resources are allocated and the speed with which long-term development takes place in the area. Indeed, the expos have led to the introduction of the ‘expo economy’ phenomenon, which is divided into three main parts: first the economic activities arising directly from the expo; secondly the economic activities that dwell on the use of resources made available for the expo; thirdly the improvement of the developmental environment of the adjacent areas of the host city and the promotion of economy-boosting activities.

The 1933 Chicago Expo, for instance, radically transformed Chicago into one of the key centers of contemporary American cities. As urban planners and decision makers of different cities around the world came to realize, the World expo presents a rare opportunity for people to transform a city. This transformation occurs mainly by incorporating the expo design into the city’s master plan. Moreover, the cultural and trade exchanges that take place at this time is always a necessary step towards city transformation.

During the Osaka World Expo 1970, a wonderful facelift occurred on local transportation, tourism, high-end residential communities, cultural exchange facilities, and business ventures. The expo also marked the beginning of a new trend, whereby a Kansai city cluster began taking shape along the country’s Pacific coast. This cluster later on became one of the greatest city clusters in the world.

Elsewhere, the Seville World Expo 1992 contributed greatly to the development of under-developed areas in Southern Spain (Balfour 2002, p. 292). It helped in narrowing the north-south gap by ensuring that there was a balanced development of the national economy. The high-tech industrial cluster that was established in Andalucia is attributed to the expo, and it has lifted the comprehensive strength of the local high-tech industry, moving it to new heights. A related story may be told about the Hanova World Expo 2000, which brought about increased profitability not only in Hanover but also across Germany. It led to the creation of some 100,000 jobs across Germany; it improved the German reputation in the eyes of international tourists, expanded domestic consumption demand, improved the investment environment, and earned the country some extra tax revenue.

Impact of expos on city’s infrastructure

Shanghai Expo 2010

Since the start of World of Exposition in 1851, the event has been progressing at the same pace as human civilization itself (Min-hong 2004, p. 51). In major cities, the expos have been widely used as an agent of drastic changes. It is not surprising therefore, that many ex-host cities have ended up becoming world-renowned cities (Min-hong 2004, p. 20). With increasing concerns globally over sustainable development, themes of expos are equally adopting a trend towards a display of a sustainability orientation. Min-Hong argue that there is need for a set of planning principles to be put in place so that the host city can contribute to make a city a sustainable socio-economic setting.

Regarding the Shanghai Expo 2010, Leung (2010, p. 8) notes that at the pre-event stage, the planning appeared to be weak with regard to administrative capacity, environmental aspect, and after-use plans. Out of the conventionally agreed-upon principles that define a sustainable world city, Shanghai was seen to, have conformed to seven (Zhou 2006, p. 62). These principles include transport and mobility, global intercity network, built environment, global governance, economy, technology/innovation, and cultural vigor. Leung (2010, p. 9) suggested that regardless of the city’s socio-political circumstances, the planners ought to be vigilant in efforts to foster local governance, sustainable local economy, and social integration. These are the main areas where the main inherent weaknesses of the expo were experienced. Leung went as far as to identify a theoretical framework for dealing with these weaknesses.

Lisbon Expo 1998

Authorities in Lisbon were keen to use the Lisbon Expo 1998 as an urban renewal tool for ‘transforming the city’s old maritime heart’ (Nash 1998, p. 28). The site of the expo stretched along the expanse of the Tagus Estuary. A part of the grand plan involved purging the stock of old docks, industrial buildings, and old rails along the river-front. Since the industrial era, these features have for a long time continued to isolate Lisbon from Tagus. The plan for the expo was clearly laid out: it entailed a new comprehensively developed local infrastructural hub, with a central component being a river that all inhabitants could access.

When viewed as a single project, it is true to say that the planning of the Lisbon Expo 1998 was of strategic importance to Portugal as a whole (Chiu 2004, p. 71). Every action was geared towards attaining two crucial missions: recovery of a derelict urban area and the launch of the world exposition. In other words, whatever was build for this fair was designed in such a way that it eventually ended up becoming a part of this city. To achieve this mission, the expo organizers deemed it fit to remove inorganic elements such as old factories and slaughters from the river-front.

The expo was designed in such a way that people could walk for two kilometers along the water-front as they headed towards the venue. Moreover, the new commercial buildings that were being used as dwellings during the Lisbon Expo were later on converted into high-end residential houses for rent to locals and tourists (Zetter 2006, p. 184). Additionally, large parks and architectural marvels were built in a harmonious synchrony with the water-front, along with bars, lively cafes, landscapes, and street furniture. Sometimes, the people who designed these structures were little-known and younger Portuguese architects. In this way, the Expo was seen as being not just a source of employment but also a great opportunity for newly graduated architects to put their skills into practice and gain valuable professional experience (Cen 2006, p. 49).

As a way of improving the external linkage and ensuring smooth conveyance of the 10 million visitors who were anticipated, the Vasco Da Gama Bridge was built. This bridge was 18 km long and it was built to form a link between Lisbon and Spain, creating aesthetic harmony with the adjacent river. Today, this bridge also serves as a long-need north-south connection within Portugal. Other new infrastructure put up included a new railway station acting as a multi-modal transport interchange for connecting metro, an airport, and new roads.

The theme of the Lisbon Expo 1998 was ‘Oceans – A Heritage for the Future’. Today, the centerpiece of this expo has already become one of the biggest ocenarium in Europe, which is devoted specifically to oceanic nature studies (Zheng 2006a, p. 58). Moreover, the environment in which this facility was constructed works in harmony with the locality’s traditional maritime landscape (Rollin 2008, p. 39). This is the reason why it is fairly true to say that Lisbon should take the pride of being etched upon perhaps Europe’s finest river-front.

Hanover Expo 2000

The theme of the Hanover Expo 2000 was ‘People-Nature-Technology, whereby a relationship between the three was emphasized. Traditionally, Hanover is an exhibition city. It has in the past been the venue of world-class computer and techno-industrial fairs every year even before the expo took place. This expo was a boost to the city in terms of infrastructure, business, tourism, and socio-cultural heritage. Perhaps buoyed by the sustainability theme, the organizers of this expo made a very smart use of venue land. The chosen venue extended along a 160-hectare site. This site was positioned around the already-existing 90-hectare land, complete with exhibition facilities within a place known as Krosberg (Chen 2004, p. 19). The remaining 70-hectare space was used as a new development that was put up on Greenfield. Essentially, this was a key synergic move because of the way it avoided any need for new development, land resumption, and unnecessary construction-related costs. When the expo 2000 was over, these facilities continued being put into their original, compatible uses.

The Hanover government was keen to capitalize on the expo by commissioning a new medium-scale commercial-cum-institutional development, revitalization of the existing trade fair grounds, commissioning of a city-wide and regional public rail transport system, and the development of the Konsberg housing district. At an early stage, the Kronsberg housing district, which began as the expo village, ended up becoming a cityscape. In this environment, the organizers were able to embark on sustainable planning and effective design principles when putting up infrastructure. Indeed, this is the main reason why the Hanover Expo 2000 became renowned for its innovative landscape design and architecture, its human-oriented demeanor, and its use of renewable energy so as to attain the zero-emission goal. Consequently, the Kronsberg district is now regarded by many stakeholders across the world as a prototype for future, sustainability-conscious housing developments.

However, the Hanover Expo was not without its limitations (Charpentier 2006, p. 162). More than a decade after the Expo was held, the expo site is regarded as a ‘no-man land with very beautiful architecture, yet little use and maintenance’. This description clearly captures the situation whereby the stock of the exhibition drastically increased, such that it was herculean task to maintain compatible uses (of exhibition) for all of them. This difficulty here arises because the exhibition industry is seasonal. Moreover, the architecture is drastically limited by its peculiar interior design, such that they cannot be easily converted into other uses. This has resulted in ‘mono-use’ of a large tract of land within Hanover’s metropolis. Therefore, the housing district outside the site of the expo has not been well integrated (Jin & Liang, 2006, p. 92).

Zaragoza Expo 2008

Before and after the Expo     

The Zaragoza Expo 2008 was not only a sustainability-themes expo, it was also the first and only expo to be monitored with the use of a program on comprehensive sustainable impact assessment (De Groote 2009, p. 79). For Zaragoza, the ambition was to establish a program of the variety of ‘Sustainable Events Organization Guide’. In this innovation, Zaragoza’s hope has been to completely transform itself into a global leader in sustainable conference organization. This blueprint had already been put in place one year prior to the actualization of the Expo 2008. The program entailed setting up an independent environmental monitoring department as part of Expo preparations for use in monitoring environmental compliance. It also entailed carrying out a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment in line with Zaragoza’s EIA law.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) program was also tasked with the work of establishing a new internal Environmental Management System as espoused in the requirements of UNE-EN ISO14001:2004 (Expo Zaragoza 2008, 2007c, p. 32). Moreover, a Sustainability Indicators System has already been put in place for monitoring the goings-on in the expo with the help of a state-of-the-art GIS-based Environmental Surveillance Tool (Expo Zaragoza 2008, 2007c, p. 32).

Before the start of the Expo 08, a sustainable development program was also established with the aim of mitigating and compensating for environmental impacts resulting from the construction and operation of the Expo venue (Cen 2009, p. 8). In this program, small-sized, medium, and large enterprises together with the general public and local NGOs, all contributed to an environmental education and a long-term vocational training program for promoting knowledge and awareness on sustainable habits to the public. There was clearly a move towards public-private-sector partnership in organizing the expo. In such an arrangement, the private firms that got involved benefited both financially and in terms of business experience. For employees working in both the private and public sectors, the Expo was an excellent source of employment opportunities.

During the Zaragoza Expo, different stakeholders got a rare opportunity to learn about the principles of sustainability, policy standards relating to the environment, indicators of technology, and ways of mitigating the negative impacts of infrastructural developments. Today, this knowledge is seen to be at work in virtually all sectors of the city’s economy (Wu 2008, p. 32). Moreover, local environmental authorities, private and public stakeholders, civil society, and even ordinary citizens are more at hand to assist in sustainability-conscious developments after the expo than they were before the expo. Collectively, this paradigm shift has translated into new ways of using education, technology, incentives, and experience.

After the expo, however, qualitative evidence and documentation demonstrating the ability of the expo to strengthen the localized economy remains largely scanty. Meanwhile, one rather interesting observation entails the way in which local communities in Zaragoza were invited to stage traditional performing arts, which ended up helping the local economy a great deal. Yet such a crucial act where local communities were involved was one-of-a-kind, and it was rarely documented. The lesson learnt here relates to the need for planners to be vigilant about the effect of the expo in terms of polarization because of its far-reaching ability to induce drastic economic restructuring.

Contribution of Expo Zaragoza 2008 to urban development

Nevertheless, Zaragoza changed a great deal after the expo in terms of urban development. The best way for one to understand the way in which Zaragoza expo 2008 changed the face of Zaragoza is to first analyze the ways in which city planning there has been changing, especially since the turn of the century. In this way, one is able to study the process of creating Exposition Zaragoza 2008 and the various urban design strategies that were associated with it came into being.

In recent times, Zaragoza has become the transport hub of the northeastern part of Spain. The city has acquired this status against the backdrop of changes in urban growth cycle as well as the rise of industrial and business middle classes. Indeed, these changes were reflected in the way modernization and consequent reforms took place all over the city. When a railway network was introduced, Zaragoza was converted into a transport hub. This had the far-reaching effect of the emergence of new factories. The introduction of a tram network has also helped modernize the city’s structure.

Since the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Zaragoza started undergoing unprecedented urban growth because of demographic and economic booms across Spain. Between 1950 and 1981, the city’s population doubled. As a result of these demographic changes, the city’s layout changed dramatically.

Then, the Zaragoza Expo 2008 was planned, an exhibition of international scope whose focus was governance and management strategies relating to natural resources, specifically, sustainable development. The Expo, the organizers hoped, would provide visitors with excellent examples of good sustainable development-related practices from all parts of the world. Other than this benefit, the Expo would undoubtedly leave a positive mark on the face of Zaragoza city in terms of infrastructure, tourism attraction opportunities, hotel businesses, and the economy at large.

During the Expo Zaragoza, visitors got the opportunity to admire impressive fountains, pavilions, and aquarium, all of which had been constructed for display during the international event. This was undoubtedly a great opportunity for the city policymakers to market it to international tourists. Outstanding exhibitions conveyed information through various ways, including audiovisual media, sound, lighting, humidity, and fog (Zawadzky 1996, p. 18). Moreover, the expo lasted for a long duration –between 14 June and 14 September 2008. This was a lot of time, during which tourists could acquaint themselves with the city’s tourist attraction sites while at the same time pondering over the theme: ‘water and sustainable development’. This marketing of tourism attractions also got a major boost with the participation of institutions, companies, NGOs, and organizations in the expo.

According to Rollin (2008 p. 268), Spain has over the years gained a reputation for proper water management. It is perhaps for this positive reputation that Zaragoza won the bid to the host of Expo 2008. Rollin notes that like all other landmark events that have been held in Spain, the Expo greatly improved Zaragoza’s prospects in terms of tourism opportunities, infrastructural developments, increased trade volume with neighboring European cities, and improvement of the economy. Owing to Zaragoza’s strategic location, the city has been able to extend this positive influence to far-off regions, including Aragon (Rollin 2008 p. 268). However, Rollin (2008 p. 268) laments that some controversies were unavoidable both before and after the expo, particularly with regard to economic and environmental aspects of development.

Conclusion

In summary, expos undoubtedly contribute to the development of the cities that host them. There are variations with regard to the availability of literature on how different expos contributed to development and sustainability. In the literature analyzed in this review, the Hanover expo seems to be the one that left the most lasting impact in terms of infrastructural development. Owing to the fact that the Hanover government capitalized on the expo by commissioning a new medium-scale commercial-cum-institutional development, the Konsberg housing came into being. In Zaragoza, the authorities appeared to live up to the theme of sustainability. For this reason, many developments that are coming up after the Expo 08 contain an element of sustainability in one way or the other, an indicator of an enlightened populace.

 

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