The Housing Schemes
The New Towns were only one solution for the housing crisis in Glasgow. Many people also moved to purpose built housing schemes on the edges of the city. These estates were being built because many of the city councillors did not want to see the population of Glasgow shrink. Glasgow wanted to keep its status as an important British city.
However, Green Belt Laws meant that there had to be a certain amount of unbuilt land outside the city. This meant that the housing schemes had to be tightly packed. This is called High Density Housing.
The first of the Schemes to be built was Pollok in the south west of the city. Next came Drumchapel in the north west, then Castlemilk to the south west and finally Easterhouse to the east.
PROBLEMS
Each of the Schemes contained 25-30,000 people. This made them as large as towns like Stirling and Perth. And they were five or six miles from the city centre . So they needed all of the things that the people of a town need. Things that keep the community together, like shops, schools, cafes, pubs, churches, sports facilities and cinemas.
But the Schemes never had any of these things. It took years for them to be built. They were just street upon street of flats and houses. Billy Connolly, who lived in Drumchapel called the scheme “a desert wi windaes”
So the schemes were miles from anywhere and there was nothing for anyone to do. In less than ten years the schemes were a by word for vandalism and violence.
SOLUTIONS?
By the 1970s the Council was aware of the problem. A shopping centre was built in Easterhouse. A Swimming pool and community centre was built in Castlemilk. After 1969 the council allowed pubs to be built.
By this time though, many people did not want to live in the schemes. By the 1980’s a quarter of the houses were abandoned and many looked like they would have to be demolished.
ACTIVITIES
1:What other solution for the housing crisis did Glasgow have?
2:Why were the Housing Schemes built on the edges of the city?
3:Name the housing schemes and where they were built.
4:How many people did each of the schemes contain?
5:How far were they from the city centre?
6:What were the design problems of the schemes?
7:Why do you think Billy Connolly called Drumchapel “a desert wi’ windaes”?
8:Why do you think the schemes became famous for gangs and vandalism?
9:How did the council try to solve the problems of the schemes?
10:Describe the schemes by the 1980s
Trace the map of the schemes from page 122 in MODERN SCOTLAND
THINK!
WHAT HAS THE COUNCIL DONE SINCE THE 1980s TO IMPROVE THE SCHEMES?
Write down all the examples of improvements in places like Easterhouse and Castlemilk you can think of.