Glasgow, 2057.

As most readers will be aware, Glasgow was home to myself for around 9 years and continues to play a fairly dominant role in my life what with one of its universities employing me. So, it was with more than a touch of interest that I read this. Visions of Glasgow in 2057 as imagined by Glasgow School of Art studnts? Good stuff. I wonder what they came up with? Well, the BBC kindly offered some images of what the Dear Green Place would look like 50 years from now:


This apparently is what Glasgow Green Beach would look like, with all sorts of facilities along the banks. Like more hotels and stuff. I'm not entirely sure whether this is the North or South of the river. Probably the North right?


Kind of like a more modern Whitley Bay/Morecambe I suspect. Or indeed a Glasgow version of Coney Island?! Perhaps they could reimagine The Warriors with neds chasing each other? I'd be entertained to see the face painted baseball bat gang redone!

Then we'd have some boat racing by Hampden. Just the ticket for the regeneration of some of the poorest areas in Scotland!


When I think of boats and Glasgow I'm reminded of the Still Game episode when the neds drop a tv through Jack and Victor's dinghy on the Kelvin.

Which in no way shape or form leads me to the idea of a market under the M8! I like this idea- London has Porobello Market which stretches all the way down under the Westway road. Why would we have to wait until 2057 to do something London has had all these years? A big old farmers market on a weekend would be great. Just have to find a spot.


Below would be a wildlife reserve at Clydeport. I believe there is already one in Possil, another in Easterhouse and another in Shettleston. I think they call them housing schemes though.


And then there is the imagining (and I use the term advisedly) of Shawfield Stadium which would be Clyde FC's new home, and I quote "Fans would vote online every game to decide the colour of the stadium's outer skin depending on the mood of the crowd." I don't think it would take long to tally up 11 votes right enough.


We then have a City Farm! Again, London has one of these in Hackney and it is a great idea. Easy enough to implement and not difficult to maintain.


I do like how they've managed to keep those manky high-rises in the 'imagining'. Those things would be about 100 years old by this point. Does anybody seriously think they'll last that long? I very much doubt it. Basil Spence would be pleased to see them still in there though!

Then there is a new island creaated slap bang in the middle of the Clyde opposite the new BBC building.


I guess there is no harm in this since the Clyde is no longer a working river where the city surrounds it. Which is a bit of a shame really as there is no reason why it couldn't be.

Staying on the subject of the Clyde- here is an idea for a living bridge, like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. I was a big fan of that idea for what is now the Clyde Arc, or as it is more colloquially known, the Squinty Bridge. A living bridge would have breathed far more life into the area south of the river, but instead we get a fairly unimaginative crossing. Now there is a surprise.


Lastly we have a 'new area' of Glasgow suggested based on London's cultural centre the Southbank. Sounds like a good idea, although the design below looks like an oversized version of the new BBC building. Hardly an attractive site for what could be an excellent idea.


Oh well.

All joking aside, I like that people are begining to think of Glagow again as a vibrant place where development can and should take place. In saying that, some of the ideas are not great, but they are at least thinking about it. Still, it kind of reminds me of an old newspaper clipping I found in the University of Glasgow's business archives in the Hugh Fraser collection:



Past futurology or present futurology? I think I like the idea of driving through the city at a 'compulsory 50mph!', if only to avoid being on the Kingston Bridge when it finally collapses! I'm quite sure that the ideas about Glasgow 50 years from now will probably be met with the same abject disgust that many people hold for the ideas of 50 years or so previously when concrete was becoming more and more prevalent in buildings. Still, it is at least good to have an idea of where the city may end up going that's not the dogs. (Shawfield excluded) Woof!