History of Housing in Glasgow
The Industrial Revolution (19th Century) – ‘The Second City of the Empire’:
As the Industrial Revolution took hold at the start of the 19th century, Glasgow's new industrialists were expanding their manufacturing bases, particularly in soap-making, distilling, glass-making, sugar and textiles. Textile production used coal in the steam-driven cotton mills and power-loom factories. Other industries included bleaching, dyeing and fabric printing.
Glasgow's population was also increasing dramatically, as deposed immigrants from the Highlands in the 1820s and thousands fleeing from the potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s provided a vast pool of cheap, unskilled labour. With its growing industrial importance Glasgow also attracted large numbers of other immigrants, in particular Jewish, Italian and East European, who contributed greatly to the economy and local community.
At its height, the cotton industry employed almost one third of Glasgow's huge workforce, but like the tobacco industry it was badly hit by external factors, especially the American Civil War of 1861, and, closer to home, increasingly tough competition from cities like Manchester.
Ever resourceful, Glasgow turned to a wide range of heavy industries, especially shipbuilding, locomotive construction, and engineering, which could thrive on the abundant supplies of iron ore and seams of Lanarkshire coal to fuel the ironworks. From 1870 until the start of the First World War Glasgow produced almost one fifth of the world's ships.
These were heady days, in which Glasgow ranked as one of the finest and richest cities in Europe and acclaimed as a model of organised industrial society. Grand public buildings and a host of museums, galleries and libraries were built. Glasgow had more parks and open spaces than any other similar European city, along with a regulated telephone system, water and gas supplies. Little wonder that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in 1857: "I am inclined to think that Glasgow is the stateliest city I ever beheld."
Glasgow's pride in these great achievements was openly displayed in two Great Exhibitions of 1888 and 1901, both held in Kelvingrove Park. Glasgow was now unquestionably the "Second City of the Empire."
Industrial Decline (20th Century):
The story of 20 th century Glasgow after the First World War, is in bleak contrast to the previous century, marred by industrial decline of enormous proportions.
Major economic downturn resulted in Glasgow being classed as a "depressed area" in the 1930s, although this era did coincide with the proud launching from John Brown's yard in Clydebank of the two great Cunard liners, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth. "Clyde-built" remained synonymous with quality. The hosting of the illustrious empire exhibition of 1938 in Bellahouston Park was another significant event.
The downturn in shipbuilding was matched by the decline in locomotive manufacturing. Glasgow had built one quarter of all locomotives in use anywhere in the world. Many were exported by ship, and a massive crane able to hoist an impressive 175 tons had been erected in 1931 on Stobcross Quay to load these engines onto ships. This Finnieston Crane remains one of Glasgow's best-known landmarks.
Immediately after the Second World War, the need for the country to replace lost shipping vessels slowed the industrial slump, but, come the 1950s, the demand for merchant and navy ships had dwindled drastically. The heavy industries could no longer compete with much cheaper labour costs of emerging competitors overseas. One final statement of shipbuilding glory came in 1967 with the launching of the Queen Elizabeth 2, but this was the finale of the great industrial days.
The time for radical change was due, and in a remarkably short space of time a whole new economic base was created, centred on the service sector.
Post War Housing:
Immediately post-Second World War Glasgow was faced with a major housing crisis. There was an acute shortage of accommodation, and much of what was there was rundown tenements. In 1947 a delegation from Glasgow visited Marseilles to see the new "tower blocks" designed by the French architect Le Corbusier, and a high-rise policy was hastily introduced to Glasgow. However, the planners failed to realise that this style was not suitable for all environments and people. Very quickly many high-rise developments deteriorated into dingy, ill-kempt dwellings with resulting problems of social exclusion and despair for the occupants.
As the high-rise flats went up, the old stone tenements came down, victims of the wreckers's ball in an ill-co-ordinated policy of slum clearance,and damaging local communities in the process. For example, the old Gorbals, captured in the evocative photographs of Oscar Marzaroli, might have been impoverished and rundown, but Marzaroli's snaps show children playing, neighbours talking on the pavement, and women "hingin oot the windae". For all the material poverty there was a genuine local pride and community spirit.
Contrast the Gorbals "New Town" of the 1960s and 70s, epitomised by the Sir Basil Spence designed Queen Elizabeth flats, an eyesore for miles around until their demolition in the 1990s. Springburn, too, declared a comprehensive development area in 1973, was effectively divided into two isolated segments by the construction of a by-pass.
Communities were also dispersed by wholesale population moves into post-war schemes like Drumchapel, Easterhouse, and Castlemilk, and into customised new town overspill developments, principally East Kilbride (1947), Cumbernauld (1950), and Livingston (1967).
Eventually the tenement demolition policy was recognised for its short-sightedness; and since the 1980s many of Glasgow's old tenements have been refurbished into highly desirable accommodation. The high-rises, too, have been largely replaced with more human-scale urban housing.
The pattern of housing tenure has changed dramatically in the past century. At the outset of the 20th century the majority of Glaswegian households rented a dwelling from a private landlord; by 1970, most were tenants of the local authority. By the start of the 21 st century , a radical housing plan, involving the wholesale transfer of the 80,000 plus council houses to the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), a not-for-profit social landlord, heralds a new, tenant-led beginning for a new century. (See Regeneration, The New Millenium)
Regeneration – The New Millenium:
Glasgow's renaissance has been sustained into the new millennium, with a range of innovative ventures.
UK City of Architecture and Design 1999
In 1999 Glasgow was designated UK City of Architecture and Design, having won this accolade over Edinburgh and Liverpool. A year-long programme of exhibitions and events brought an estimated economic benefit of £34 million to the city and provided a further catalyst for urban regeneration.
A lasting legacy was the opening of Scotland's Centre for Architecture and Design and the City in The Lighthouse - the former "Glasgow Herald" building in Mitchell Lane, and art nouveau designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh's first public commission. The Lighthouse incorporates the Mackintosh Tower with its fabulous views over the city including important Mackintosh buildings like the School of Art and Scotland Street School.
Attention was also focused during the year on the classical architecture of the equally precocious Alexander "Greek" Thomson.
Fresh attention was paid to Glasgow's many museums and art galleries, highlighting - and in some instances cleaning up - some of the finest and most beautifully preserved buildings in what Sir John Betjeman called "the most perfect Victorian city in the UK". Not least among these is the magnificent City Chambers, Glasgow's civic headquarters in George Square, which stands as a proud statement to the city's status during the 19 th century as "The Second City of the Empire".
The Homes for the Future project, an innovative residential development overlooking Glasgow Green was another legacy of 1999. Built on a group of derelict infill sites in an isolated area, this three-phase project will eventually create 250 state-of-the-art homes and is a stepping stone to a wider plan for the revitalisation of the area surrounding the historic Green.
Clyde Maritime Centre Opening 1999
Based in the Pumphouse building which once held the hydraulic machinery for the nearby Queen's Dock, the Clyde Maritime Museum at Yorkhill Quay tells the story of the River Clyde's sea-going history and its people.
Its centrepiece is one of the remaining Clyde-built tall ships, the sv Glenlee, a nineteenth century barque built in Port Glasgow and launched in 1896, which went on to circumnavigate the world four times.
Glasgow Science Centre Opening 2001
The level of scientific research carried out at the city's universities has helped Glasgow become the third science city in the UK in terms of funding invested in research. This success has made Glasgow a leading location for hi-tech industries and developing fields such as biotechnology. Glasgow Science Centre, incorporating three buildings at Pacific Quay on the Clyde, aims to increase the public's awareness of the importance of science and technology by presenting the information in an interactive, fun way, and opened in 2001.
Its Science Mall, a crescent-shaped titanium building, features a theatre, electronic library, and a computer lab as well as themed exhibits.The adjoining IMAX Theatre houses the biggest screen in the country and a 12,000 watt sound system.
Another on-site first is the Glasgow Tower, 459 feet high and providing a 20-mile panoramic view of the city. It is the tallest free-standing structure in Scotland, and the only tower in the world capable of revolving 360 degrees from the ground up.
BBC Scotland are also scheduled to relocate to Pacific Quay in 2004.
Glasgow Harbour Project 2001
The futuristic Glasgow Harbour regeneration project was launched in 2001. This ten-year development is one of the largest waterfront regeneration projects in the UK with an end value of £500m. Sited on 120 acres of land, until recently redundant shipyard and dockland, the project will create a new district, incorporating residential, commercial, retail and leisure space in one integrated location.
The aim is to bring people back to live and work in the city once more, and encourage tourism. The first of the scheduled 2,500 residential apartments will be occupied in 2004.
Glasgow Harbouralso houses the Council's new Riverside Museum, replacing the Museum of Transport, and linking in with the Tall Ship sv Glenlee, and the Waverley, the last sea-going paddle steamer, berthed at nearby Anderston Quay.
Glasgow Housing Association Regeneration Scheme 2003
Introduced in March 2003, following a positive vote by tenants, this radical housing plan, the largest such scheme in Europe, involved the wholesale transfer of Glasgow's 80,000 plus council houses to the Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), a not-for-profit social landlord.
The transfer arose from acknowledgement that poor housing stock, much of which failed to meet exacting modern standards, combined with high levels of deprivation, creates major instability in the social and economic fabric of the city. This situation was further exacerbated by the unsustainable, spiralling level of rent debt, which the Scottish Executive agreed to service in the event of a successful transfer.
The creation of a network of tenant-empowered and community-based housing associations will see management of change driven by communities at a local level.
What is unique about the GHA initiative is the scale of this transfer of assets from public to community ownership, and the magnitude of the accompanying financial package required to implement it. The initial aim will be to provide 64,000 quality housing units by 2009, with a parallel hope for jobs, education and new technology initiatives.
Queen's Dock 2 Project 2003
The regeneration of the riverside continues with the unveiling in 2003 of an exciting £350m plan for the "redensification" of the existing SECC site. A new, purpose-built £50m entertainment arena to seat 12,500, and an outdoor events space will be created. Scheduled to open in 2013, this second development of the Queen's Dock area will make it the first venue of its kind in Europe to have an exhibition centre, conference centre and arena all on one site.
European Capital of Sport 2003
Glasgow beat off stiff competition to become European Capital of Sport 2003. This award recognises many initiatives developed in Glasgow to promote sport, participation and fitness and a culture to produce a healthier, more active population.
The Spanish and Italian judges who visited the city were especially impressed by the city's new leisure centres; the Women in Sport Programme; the Council's free swim initiative for under 18s and over-60s; and the ground-breaking GP referral scheme.
Glasgow is also a UK National City of Sport - a title granted by the Sports Council of Great Britain and the Scottish Sports Council in recognition of the high standard of facilities for major regional, national, and world sporting events. International athletics, gymnastics, badminton, cross-country running and American Football events have all been successfully staged in recent years.
Hampden Park, Scotland's national football stadium, re-opened in 1999, following a £63m refurbishment, which included the provision of a National Football Museum, and the city played highly successful host to the 2002 Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen.
Glasgow is also home to Scotland's first School of Sport at Bellahouston Academy, which aims to nurture young talent nationwide and provide the best opportunities for development.
Modern Glasgow
Glasgow has welcomed a range of diverse citizens over the centuries, not least becoming home to a significant Asian population and a thriving Chinese community. Minority ethnic groups now make up 5.4 per cent of Glasgow's total population.
Following the national dispersal programme for asylum seekers, Glasgow provides accommodation, schooling and support for some 6,000 asylum seekers at any one time in the city.
Keen to remove the scourge of sectarianism, thereare a wealth of initiatives ongoing in the city to promote tolerance and understanding. Sense Over Sectarianism is one such scheme, bringing together the Council's Education Services, the city's football clubs, and various Glasgow churches and charities.
Tourist Bonanza
The transformation of Glasgow from its inward-looking, post-industrial slump, to a confident, outward-looking, economically regenerated destination city is significant.
The popular arts scene in Glasgow continues to experience a huge upturn. Filmgoers too can enjoy not just modern multiplexes, but also art house movies and classics at the Glasgow Film Theatre. Flourishing creative writing programmes at both Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities is nurturing new literary talent. Top pop and rock bands play the city regularly, at the SECC, Barrowlands, Carling Academy, the ABC and King Tut's
Add to that the numerous pubs and clubs offering live music and dance, and you can see why Glasgow was recently voted "UK's Coolest City" in a poll by The Big Issue magazine.
Eating out in the city has never been more popular. An abundance of chic restaurants has sprung up in the Merchant City, and south of the river, not to mention Glasgow being proclaimed Curry Capital of the U.K. for several years running.
Glasgow is also the new retail mecca for the committed shopper. The city is the second largest shopping centre in the entire UK. Buchanan Galleries remains the largest in-centre shopping development in Scotland, supplemented by a further three major shopping centres at Princes Square, St Enoch, and the Italian Centre. Several others are also in the pipeline, including the Merchant Village scheme at Candleriggs.
It islittle wonder then that the tourist industry is booming. The growth in boutique hotels and major chains alike has seen the number of hotel rooms rocket from under 1,000 in 1983 to over 12,500 today. Tourism in the Greater Glasgow region now employs some 55,000 people. Contrast this with the figure of 38,000 employed as shipbuilders during the halcyon Clydeside days.
Upwards of 4 million tourists now visit Glasgow annually, and the key foreign markets remain the USA (27%), Canada (13%), and Germany (11%), in addition to increased numbers closer to home who visit for a weekend break. To ensure this upward trend continues the Council and key partners have drawn up a Tourist Action Plan for 2002-7.
Glasgow is also Europe's fastest-growing conference destination. In the past four years the annual convention sales have increased from £15.3m in 1997/8 to a prodigious £51.1m in 2001/2.
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