The 2016 GTU Keynote Lecture was given by Dr. Brian Godfrey, Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Vassar College, on October 17, 2016.
“OLYMPIC CITY: Legacies of Athletic Mega-Events in Rio de Janeiro” is a theoretical review and critique of mega-events, along with an empirical analysis of the various socioeconomic, transportation, political, environmental and other impacts of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (and the 2014 World Cup). The talk will highlight the long-term issue of pollution in Rio’s Guanabara Bay, industrialization and informal urbanization (favelas), and sanitation infrastructures generally. It should complement courses on uneven development, urbanization, environmental hazards, Latin America as well as courses on human and nature-society geography more generally.
In addition to attending the banquet/induction ceremony, Dr. Godfrey attended some classes and met individually with faculty and students. He was very generous with his time.