Mega-events, Urban Renewal and Social Impacts: The Case of Expo 2010 Shanghai

Organising mega-events is a type of social capital initiative implemented for developing the economy and reshaping the society of a city through the improvement of the international public image. This dissertation analyses mega-events as a growing tool for urban renewal strategies through the case of the Shanghai World Expo 2010, the most recent mega-event held in a developing country and a special opportunity to combine expo’s objectives with an urban regeneration project. In this research work it has been tried to understand to what extent mega-events can generate or help to speed up urban transformation and what are the impacts on the hosting city, with particular regard to the attempt to reach a social harmonization. The analysis is going to point out some of the main drawbacks of this event and to come up with suggestions to direct future mega-events.