Los Angeles is currently set to host the 2028 Olympics, bringing both opportunities and challenges for the city. Known for its prior success hosting The Games in 1932 and 1984, L.A. has the infrastructure and experience to manage a global event of this scale.
However, questions remain about its readiness amid rising costs, housing shortages, and environmental impacts like the recent wildfires in Southern California, which have caused widespread destruction and billions of dollars in damages.
Although L.A.’s new public transit upgrades and iconic venues provide a strong foundation, some critics worry about the burden on local communities and the long-term impact of prioritizing the Olympic Games over rebuilding efforts.
In light of these challenges, Newsweek has reached out to experts to assess whether Los Angeles is prepared to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
From Professor Gerard Francisco Sandoval: L.A. Should Not Host the 2028 Olympics. The City Must Invest in affordable housing
I immigrated from Guatemala to Los Angeles during the 1984 Olympics when I was four. Times have drastically changed, not only for immigrants but also for the city.
As a city planning expert—with a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and having written a book about Los Angeles—I believe Los Angeles lacks the political, financial, and ecological capacity to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Ecologically, the city is a desert that needs to import its water. It does not have the necessary water resources to prevent climate change disasters, like the fires currently burning in the city’s arid areas—ironically, some of the wealthiest communities in the region.
The city faces challenges due to political leadership ineptitude and corruption. Furthermore, the Olympics would only increase the pressure on affordable housing in Los Angeles. Thousands of visitors would flood the city, competing for accommodations with locals—via housing-sharing businesses—locals who can barely afford their rent or who are already part of an unprecedented homeless population. Los Angeles needs to invest more strategically in affordable housing resources instead of directing its funds toward the Olympics.
Gerard Francisco Sandoval, Ph.D., Professor, School of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon.
From Dr. James K. Mitchell: A Successful Olympic Games Could Not Be Assured if Wildfires Persist
Every previous Olympic Games has occurred in the absence of a sudden major catastrophe. The January 2025 fires in Los Angeles illustrated challenges that are already pushing Greater L.A.’s sophisticated emergency preparedness system beyond the limits of its effectiveness.
If similar fires, or other area-wide risks, were to occur in mid-July 2028, a successful Olympic Games could not be assured. The three and a half years before then offer opportunities to provide additional safety measures that would improve prospects.
Particular attention needs to be paid to upgrading public communication, warning, evacuation and sheltering systems as well as facilitating preparations that individuals and institutions might take to buffer their lands and buildings against risks through fire resistant construction, vegetation management and installation of secure local water storage facilities among other measures.
James K. Mitchell, Emeritus Professor of Geography, Rutgers University, New Jersey.
From Dr. Bill Chameides: No Location is Safe and “Equipped” to Deal With Unnatural Disasters
Given our changing climate and the accelerating pace of unpredictable and seemingly random severe weather events, there is no location that is safe and “equipped” to deal with the unnatural disasters that might occur. Wherever you go, it’s a crap shoot.
Bill Chameides, Professor Emeritus and former Dean, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University.
From Dr. Robert N. Stavins: L.A. Will Have The Capacity to Host The Olympics, But Are They Emotionally Ready?
Los Angeles will very likely have the physical capacity to be ready to host the 2028 Olympics, but the key question is whether they will have the emotional and mental capacity to do so following the ongoing wildfire threats, economic pressures, infrastructure concerns, and housing shortages.
On the one hand, the city might still be reticent to be in a celebratory mood after the devastating fires, but it is more likely, I suspect, that the emotional desire to demonstrate resilience will dominate. Hence, I believe the Olympics will go forward.
Robert N. Stavins, A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program.
From Professor Rob Shields: L.A. Should Not host The 2028 Olympic Games. A Sustainable City Needs To Be Rebuilt
L.A. should not host the 2028 Olympic Games. There will be a struggle between those who want to fund stadia and athletes villages—that take years to truly assimilate and domesticate—and those who need to rebuild sustainable cities. Those who control the funding are powerful, elsewhere and not attuned to the needs of the residents who are the true hosts. Whether or not the media personalities, celebrities and influencers can build a coalition with average citizens far and wide will determine how successful they are in marshaling the power to make that decision and direct efforts to rebuilding for the future.
Rob Shields, Human Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Dept. and Dept. Of Sociology, University of Alberta, Edmonton Canada.
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