Social promises made by Olympics organizers seven years ago remain unfulfilled in the eyes of many inner-city residents, new research suggests.

During the bid process, VANOC and its government partners agreed on a list of commitments “to maximize the opportunities and mitigate potential impacts in Vancouver’s inner-city neighbourhoods from hosting the 2010 Winter Games.”

The promises were laid out in the 2002 Inner-City Inclusive Commitment Statement (ICS) and addressed such issues as rental housing and community consultation.

With less than a year to go until the Games, many locals may feel shut out of the planning process and like commitments haven't been acted upon, according to a poll of 577 inner-city residents conducted last October.

Research was led by the UBC Centre for Population Health Promotion Research and has a margin of error of +/- 4%. It suggests 89 per cent of inner-city residents don’t know how to provide input into Games planning, while only 28 per cent of interested respondents are aware of opportunities to exhibit their arts or culture.

“If the intent of the Commitment was to engage people – based on what people are saying to us, the partners have failed,” head researcher and UBC professor Jim Frankish told The Tyee.

The ICS contained assurances the 2010 Games wouldn't contribute to homelessness or cause unreasonable rent increases. Almost a third of residents surveyed said they, or someone they knew, had faced eviction due to Olympics-related renovations, while 42 per cent had heard of, or experienced, higher rents.

Frankish cautioned it’s hard to prove negative housing impacts are tied to the Olympics. But he added the findings suggest there may be widespread dissatisfaction with the Games in Vancouver's inner-city neighbourhoods.

“People are upset, scared, worried,” he said. “It warrants further investigation.”

Geoff Dembicki is a staff reporter for The Hook.