Building Modern Scotland
A Social and Architectural History of the New Towns, 1947-1997
Published on 6. February 2025
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-350-40170-9 (ISBN)
Description
Combining architectural and social history, this open access book tells for the first time the in-depth story of Scotland's new towns.
One of the most significant episodes in modern architectural, urban and social history, Scotland's postwar new towns offered new housing, new ways of life and new jobs. Begun between the late 1940s and the late 1960s, the new towns - East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine - were a key element of the planned Welfare State, attracting international attention and widespread publicity. These were places of architectural innovation, and economic and social change.
Building Modern Scotland tells a new history of the new towns, combining architectural and social history to illustrate what was planned, what was built, and how these places were experienced by the communities who lived and worked in them. It positions the new towns at the heart of modern Scottish history, showing how they represented an ambition to make a modern, transformed nation. The book surveys each new town's planning and design before turning to key topics such as housing, family life, work and opportunity, and community.
Drawing on archives and oral history, the book will appeal to historians of modern architecture and design as well as readers interested in modern social history. It provides a new account of modern Scotland, its buildings, places and people, and argues that a better understanding of the new towns' history and value should inform present-day decision-making.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
One of the most significant episodes in modern architectural, urban and social history, Scotland's postwar new towns offered new housing, new ways of life and new jobs. Begun between the late 1940s and the late 1960s, the new towns - East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine - were a key element of the planned Welfare State, attracting international attention and widespread publicity. These were places of architectural innovation, and economic and social change.
Building Modern Scotland tells a new history of the new towns, combining architectural and social history to illustrate what was planned, what was built, and how these places were experienced by the communities who lived and worked in them. It positions the new towns at the heart of modern Scottish history, showing how they represented an ambition to make a modern, transformed nation. The book surveys each new town's planning and design before turning to key topics such as housing, family life, work and opportunity, and community.
Drawing on archives and oral history, the book will appeal to historians of modern architecture and design as well as readers interested in modern social history. It provides a new account of modern Scotland, its buildings, places and people, and argues that a better understanding of the new towns' history and value should inform present-day decision-making.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
Reviews / Votes
Building Modern Scotland is a timely and deeply researched volume documenting Scotland's five post-war new towns... More than an architectural monograph, it is a critical social history that weaves together architectural analysis, planning policy, spatial design, and lived experience. * Fabrications, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand * Building Modern Scotland represents the best kind of urban history. Thematically ambitious, yet grounded in time and place, this book places Scottish new towns into broader conversations about modernization, the built environment, lived experience, and a dynamic welfare state. * Guy Ortolano, Professor and Chair of History, New York University, USA * This exciting new book explores the contribution of the New Towns to realising a modern Scotland. The work provides deep insights into the planning, building, and lived and felt experiences of five new towns in the second half of the twentieth century. These findings should be of real interest to anyone involved in planning, designing, and building new towns in the twenty-first century. * Rebecca Madgin, Professor of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow, UK * Packed with insight, beautifully illustrated, and based on the most exacting scholarship, this will be required reading for anyone interested in the history of modern Scotland. More than that, it begs important questions about the present and the future too. * William Whyte, Professor of Social and Architectural History, University of Oxford, UK *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
60 bw illus and 40 colour illus
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 188 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
726 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-40170-9 (9781350401709)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Alistair Fair is Reader in Architectural History at the University of Edinburgh. Lynn Abrams is Professor of Modern History at the University of Glasgow. Kat Breen is a tutor in Architectural History and Heritage at the University of Edinburgh. Miles Glendinning is Professor of Architectural Conservation at the University of Edinburgh. Diane Watters is an historian and author at Historic Environment Scotland. Valerie Wright is Lecturer in Modern Scottish History at the University of Edinburgh.
Content
Preface: Note on Authorship
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1: Architecture
1. East Kilbride
2. Glenrothes
3. Cumbernauld
4. Livingston
5. Irvine
Part 2: Life
6. Homes
7. Families
8. Community
9. Opportunity
Conclusion: 'Out of the Ordinary'
Interviewees
Bibliography of Published Sources
About the Authors
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1: Architecture
1. East Kilbride
2. Glenrothes
3. Cumbernauld
4. Livingston
5. Irvine
Part 2: Life
6. Homes
7. Families
8. Community
9. Opportunity
Conclusion: 'Out of the Ordinary'
Interviewees
Bibliography of Published Sources