Read or listen to just about any media coverage of Glasgow 2014 and one word is repeated over and over again: legacy.

Politicians, the Games organisers, sporting bodies - they all use it.

But for many people who live in the communities most directly linked to the Games - Bridgeton, Parkhead, Shettleston, Dalmarnock, Rutherglen, Shawfield - legacy is more than just a word or a concept, it's potentially a fresh beginning.

New sporting venues such as the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and Emirates Arena are only part of the story. For these communities it's the new employment, education, training and housing opportunities that will make any real difference in the long-term.

According to Jim Clark of Clyde Gateway, one of the key organisations in the regeneration process, legacy is a marathon rather than a sprint.

"Although much of the focus is around the Games next summer, Clyde Gateway is actually only a quarter of the way through our 20-year mandate - we're going to be around for another 14 years after the Games are finished.

"These communities have been declining for 30 to 40 years, and there's no quick fix. But you can't deliver large-scale regeneration without a big event and some big attractions - in our case that's the Games, and places like the Emirates and Velodrome.

"But it's not just about shiny new buildings. The local communities told us from the very start that they want us to deliver apprenticeships, training opportunities and full-time, permanent jobs for the people who live here. And that's what we're quietly doing."

Progress on the jobs front isn't happening at break-neck speed, but it is being made all the same - by March 2013 Clyde Gateway had created 1300 jobs in the local area, of which more than half have gone to local people.

Other successes are being chalked up too. The newly-refurbished Olympia centre in Bridgeton, for example, put an iconic but derelict old building back at the heart of the community. Previously a cinema, bingo hall and furniture warehouse, it has been reinvented for the 21st century as a library, specialist film archive, boxing gym and business premises. Since its opening in December, library usership in the area has increased by 30%.

Bringing investors and employers into the area is key, of course, and much of the physical work to support this is either complete or under way.

Driving around the East End, you can't miss the "shiny new buildings" Jim referred to. As well as the Emirates Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the Olympia centre, there's Eastgate, the new headquarters for Glasgow & Community Safety Services, and Red Tree, an impressive new location for small businesses.

Other big projects include the Athletes' Village in Dalmarnock (already served by a brand new railway station and in the future, a pedestrian bridge) the Cuningar Loop woodland park and a revamp for Rutherglen town centre. And work is already under way on the new National Business District at Shawfield, a hugely ambitious project that Clyde Gateway and their partners hope will make a significant contribution to the target of 20,000 new jobs for the area in the coming years.

Jim acknowledges that the task is mammoth, but he is confident that projects like these will bring tangible benefits to communities in the East End.

"Physical regeneration is easier to achieve than social or economic regeneration," he says. "Motorways, business centres and sporting arenas are great, but giving people a long-term future is more important.

"There's a real feelgood factor around the Games and we need to ride that wave in the East End."