Glasgow's Urban Problems and Solutions

Glasgow's Urban Problems and Solutions

* Geog factors led to Glasgow’s importance

* Decline in ship building etch, moved due to cheap labour elsewhere

* Slum conditions

* Comprehensive redevelopment? Uphill 1970s – what problems with it

* Renovate

* Regeneration

There are several geological factors, which led to Glasgow’s

importance. Firstly, there were many nearby coal and iron fields.

These are the two essential ingredients required to produce steel,

making Glasgow an ideal place for industry. On top of this, there is a

very deep, large river (R. Clyde) running right into the heart of

Glasgow and out the other side. This provoked heavy ship industry in

the area, as well as train building and bridge construction. (eg.

Kingston Bridge, built across the R. Clyde, 1970, and Clyde Tunnel

1963, which linked the two sides of Glasgow.)

However, Glasgow soon began to face many problems.

Glasgow relied heavily on the World economy, to buy and sell goods,

and the moment the World economy slipped (great depression 1929) many

businesses closed. This lead to all sorts of declines in industry,

especially heavy industry, such as ship building, which moved

elsewhere where the labour was cheaper, and profits greater.

Living conditions were declining at a very high rate. Terraced housing

was literally decaying, and people were hugely overcrowded. These poor

living conditions led to other problems, for example, social

problems, such as Crime, drugs, alcohol, unemployment, racism,

prostitution and a decrease in the amount of people. There were high

levels of disease and illnesses because of the overcrowding, an...

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...educed from 90 000 to 9 000, meaning that

there was much less of a problem with overcrowding.

Derelict land (Brownfield sites) was used to build flats, cinemas

complexes (e.g. The Quay) and industry. The CBD was renovated, with

the building of the St Enoch Shopping Centre, restaurants, and

pedestrianisatioin. Tax incentives were induced to attract people; for

example, they offered things such as no tax for 3 years. Green belt

laws were also introduced, to prevent the city from expanding, and

this led to new small towns cropping up around Glasgow, for example,

Livingston. These laws prevent sprawling, but allow leisure and

farming. This was quite a success in improving the conditions in

Glasgow, and now there is much less of a problem with poor housing,

crime, and lack of services, although the problem still remains.