Living in the Urban Renaissance? Opportunity and Challenge for 21st-Century Glasgow

This chapter explores the rebirth of post-industrial Glasgow as a desirable urban centre, which has undergone a radical change in reputation and profile within a relatively short period. Successful urban boosterist strategies have left the imprint of event- and culture-led regeneration clearly legible on the urban fabric and we review city centre revitalisation, safety and neighbourhood change as factors in an apparently growing appetite for urban living. However, the urban environment is shaped by a combination of strategic planning, national and supranational economic forces. Asking who benefits, as Glasgow grapples with the challenge of economic transition, requires consideration of these wider drivers, including tenure structures, demographic shifts and the decentralisation of poverty. Along with Glasgow’s successes, the vulnerabilities of a consumption-based economy and a relatively elite-orientated development strategy mean that the challenge of how the city will support and protect its most vulnerable citizens remains.