In order to attract more investors to the city, Glasgow's City Council has adopted a thorough and optimistic city plan.

Environment Despite being at the heart of the conurbation, Glasgow’s greenspaces accounts for over 20% of the city’s total area. The greenspace network consists of public parks, amenity open spaces, countryside areas, local nature reserves, loosely connected by a variety of river valley systems and transport corridors. The regeneration of the Forth and Clyde Canal is not only focused on physical infrastructure and economic development, but also on ensuring environmental quality. The city is developing more plans to focus on sites where environmental improvements will contribute to their marketability.

The dark green areas represent green space.

Housing Housing has played a key role in the regeneration of Glasgow. Successful urban renewal is supported by a policy of encouraging residential development on brownfield sites and promoting other renewal opportunities. The City faces a number of problems relating to the condition of some of its housing. A small increase in public housing stock between 1989 and 1999 was a result of new houses built by private builders and housing associations outnumbering losses through demolition and height reduction in the social rented sector. The owner occupied sector continues to grow. The owner occupied proportion is expected to increase still further, although the potential is limited by the ability of the majority of households in the social rented sector to fund house purchase. In 1998, approximately 80% of tenants in the social rented sector were on housing benefit. Tenant management co-operatives were set up in order to involve local residents in the management and maintenance functions, which were previously undertaken by the governmental Housing Services. In 1997, there were 20 Tenant Management Co-operatives, covering approximately 5,300 houses. The eradication of sub-tolerable housing in the private sector is a central part of the Council’s housing plan. Inner City tenement flats have been rehabilitated by community based housing associations using the Housing Action Area for Improvement framework. 80% of dwellings treated were Below Tolerable Standard or lacked standard amenities. The outstanding balance of pre-1919 tenements considered suitable for inclusion in the rehabilitation programme is estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 units. In addition, housing associations and co-operatives are now virtually the only provider of new houses in the social rented sector in the city. Annual completions have risen from an average of under 200 in the 1980s, to about 600 in the 1990s. Until recently, most housing association new-build has been on infill sites in the Inner City but the emphasis is changing. A substantial proportion of sites in the current land supply (49% in 1999) require public funding to ensure their development. Funding by Scottish Enterprise Glasgow (BSHI) and Scottish Homes (Housing Association Grant for Low Cost Home Ownership and Grant for Rent and Owner Occupation), is therefore crucial to maintaining the current revival in private housing activity in the City.

Model Structure The comparison of Glasgow to a urban structure model is difficult to make. The diverse history of Glasgow being an ecclesiastical, mercantile, industrial, and post-industrial service economy city provides an interesting combination. The central business district is based loosely on an American grid pattern.

Glasgow's Growth by Year