Escaping the shadow of the upas tree

Abstract

Glasgow experienced several decades of deindustrialization and the collapse of a closely connected manufacturing and heavy engineering “cluster “resulting in massive job losses and the physical scars of industrial dereliction. Since the early 1980s through a series of public / private partnerships the city has focused heavily on building a more diverse economic structure based largely on a range of sectors in the service and knowledge based economies as well as more traditional approaches to inward investment, physical regeneration, skills and business growth. As a result Glasgow has experienced a significant economic recovery with sustained growth in employment since the mid 1990s and a strong rebound from the 2008 crash. The city now has a more diverse sectoral structure with much of the recovery based on the continuing strength of the city centre and the skill base of the population.