The Vital City

Study Tour 3: Heritage And Regeneration - Glasgow’s Merchant City & Near East End

Please note that this tour is now full (4 September 2007)

Leaders: Julie Clark and Steve Tiesdell (with Andrew Carse)

Date/Time: Wednesday 12 September:  Depart 1.45. Return by 4.45 pm.

Meeting point: Outside Wolfson Medical Building, University Place (off University Avenue). Participants will travel by Underground to Buchanan Street station and walk from there. Please assemble ten minutes before to ensure a prompt departure. This is a walking tour so please also remember to bring appropriate clothing for the weather!

Summary: This walking tour explores the eastern, more historic part of Glasgow City Centre, taking in the revitalisation of the Merchant City and the attempts to revitalise the city’s near east end.  From the classically-styled villas built for the wealthy ‘tobacco lords’ of 18th century Glasgow in the original heart of the city, the tour covers an area of major historical and architectural significance.  Over recent years, it has also been a focus of considerable regeneration effort, as this part of the city is repositioned as a vibrant centre for leisure and creative industries and as a home for a new generation of urban dwellers.  Looking at a selection of the city’s most famous landmarks and examples of medieval, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, this tour outlines some of the challenges of regeneration in an historic context, exploring the dilemmas involved in rehabilitating and converting existing buildings and inserting new development into valued contexts.

Last update:  10 September 2007