Christopher Gaffney is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Tisch Center for Hospitality in the School of Professional Studies at New York University. A Vermont-born, Texas-trained geographer, Gaffney has taught in Taiwan, Brazil, Switzerland, and at several universities the United States. His earlier work focused on the intersection of urban studies and sports mega-events. Gaffney´s 2008 monograph, Temples of the Earthbound Gods, explored the interdigitation of urban development and sporting cultures in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.

Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, Gaffney served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Latin American Geography from 2014-2018, guiding the journal´s award-winning transformation. Gaffney has appeared in a slew of documentary films and is often quoted in the world´s leading media outlets. Gaffney ran an influential blog in the lead up to the 2016 Olympics, Hunting White Elephants, and has written extensively on the impacts and realpolitik of sports mega-events across numerous formats. Prior to joining NYU in 2018, Gaffney was the Project Manager for Team Rubicon's disaster relief efforts in post-Maria Puerto Rico.

Currently, Gaffney is working on three streams of research: Global Tourism Risk, Regenerative Tourism Design, and Global Nomadism.

Publications

• The Mega-Events Database: Systematising the Evidence on Mega-Event Outcomes, 1-9 By Leisure Studies (Nov 01 2021)
• An Evaluation of the Sustainability of the Olympic Games, 4 (4): 340-48 By Nature Sustainability (Apr 01 2021)
• Geoporn: Spectacular Reproduction in Olympic Rio De Janeiro By Sport in Society (Feb 01 2021)
• Reading Sami Moisio's Geopolitics of the Knowledge-Based Economy By Political Geography (Aug 01 2020)
• COVID-19 and Tourism Risk in the Americas, vol. 19 no. 3, 150 - 54 By Journal of Latin American Geography (Jul 01 2020)
• The Tokyo 2020 Games and the End of Olympic History By Capitalism Nature Socialism (Apr 01 2020)
• Conclusion, In Olimpismo: The Olympic Movement in the Making of Latin America and the Caribbean By University of Arkansas Press (Jan 01 2020)
• Maraca! The Death and Life of a Global Icon By Rassegna Di Architettura e Urbanistica (Jan 01 2020)
• Not for Beginners, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 176 - 178 By Dialogues in Human Geography (Jul 01 2019)
• Sports Mega Events and Democracy: Socio-Spatial Dynamics in Rio, In The Business and Culture of Sports: Society, Politics, Economy, Environment, Vol 4, 137-52 By Macmillan Publishers (Jan 01 2019)
• Sports, Mega Events, and Security, In The Business and Culture of Sports: Society, Politics, Economy, Environment, Vol 3, 383-98 By Macmillan Publishers (Jan 01 2019)
• Can We Blame It on Rio? By Bulletin of Latin American Research (Dec 01 2018)
• Letter From the Editor, vol. 17 no. 3, p. 6-7 By Journal of Latin American Geography (Oct 01 2018)
• Letter From the Editor, vol. 17 no. 2, p. 5-5 By Journal of Latin American Geography (Jul 01 2018)
• Comparing the Urban Impacts of the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games From 2010 to 2016, Vol 42, Issue 4, 247-69 By Journal of Sport and Social Issues (May 01 2018)
• Letter From the Editor, vol. 17 no. 1, p. 5-6 By Journal of Latin American Geography (Apr 01 2018)
• Globalization and Mega-Events: Thinking through Flows, 296-305 By Edward Elgar Publishing (Jan 01 2018)
• Scrutinizing Global Mega-Events, 125-37 By SAGE Publications (Jan 01 2018)
• A. Temples of the Earthbound Gods By University of Texas Press (Jan 01 2008)