Glasgow: The City Centre Opportunity for Change

Daoudi, Nadia S (1986) Glasgow: The City Centre Opportunity for Change. Master of Architecture thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

After a brief introduction, this thesis begins by exploring the nature of the centre of Glasgow in both functional and physical terms in order to assess its prospects for change. This assessment is fairly general and includes a review of recent planning policies of Glasgow District Council, in its attempts to counteract the disastrous policies of the 1950's and 1960's a period where Glasgow was struggling to cope with slums clearance. This part of the thesis concludes that Glasgow city centra has been trying to respond to the decline of its residential population and the loss of much of its original heavy industries. This resulted in changes to the form of the centre which has been identified mainly in respect to its component parts, namely the inner core of the city in which are concentrated the major economic activites as well as the physically structured fabric and the decaying and derelict fringes. We then turn to one of the main reasons for the rapid loss of identity of many cities namely the failure to adopt and implement visual policies. A brief summary is then given to the Glasgow Action report and the work of Gordon Cullen. This study shows how powerly influential is the combination of an economic strategy to a physical process of visual manipulation in the effort to revitalise the centre of a city. The concluding chapter looks at the opportunities necessary to achieve an inclusive guided future development of the city centre. It focusses mainly on ideas and principles rather than on detailed proposal We believe that the principles and proposals emitted throughout this thesis can be relevant in any other city where opportunities are given in bringing a new identity to its centre.

• Item Type: Thesis (Master of Architecture)
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Architecture, Urban planning
• Date of Award: 1986
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1986-77762
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• Last Modified: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/77762