Glasgow () is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. Fully named as the City of Glasgow, it is the most populous of Scotland's 32 unitary authority areas. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian, which is also the name of the local dialect.

Glasgow grew from the medieval Bishopric of Glasgow and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow, which contributed to the Scottish Enlightenment. From the 18th century the city became one of Europe's main hubs of transatlantic trade with the Americas. With the Industrial Revolution, the city and surrounding region grew to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of engineering and shipbuilding,^[1] constructing many revolutionary and famous vessels. Glasgow was known as the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era.^[2][3][4] Today it is one of Europe's top twenty financial centres and is home to many of Scotland's leading businesses.^[5]

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew to a population of over one million,^[6] and was the fourth-largest city in Europe, after London, Paris and Berlin.^[7] In the 1960s, large-scale relocation to new towns and peripheral suburbs, followed by successive boundary changes, have reduced the current population of the City of Glasgow unitary authority area to 580,690.^[8] 1,750,500^[8] people live in the Greater Glasgow Urban Area based on the 2007 population Estimate.^[8] The entire region surrounding the conurbation covers approximately 2.3 million people, 41% of Scotland's population.^[9]

History

The present site of Glasgow has been used since prehistoric times for settlement due to it being the forded point of the River Clyde furthest downstream, which also provided a natural area for salmon fishing. The origins of Glasgow as an established city derive ultimately from its medieval position as Scotland's second largest bishopric. Glasgow increased in importance during the tenth and 11th centuries as the site of this bishopric, reorganised by King David I of Scotland and John, Bishop of Glasgow. There had been an earlier religious site established by Saint Mungo in the 6th century. The bishopric became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Kingdom of Scotland, bringing wealth and status to the town. Between 1175 and 1178 this position was strengthened even further when Bishop Jocelin obtained for the episcopal settlement the status of burgh from King William I of Scotland, allowing the settlement to expand with the benefits of trading monopolies and other legal guarantees. Sometime between 1189 and 1195 this status was supplemented by an annual fair, which survives to this day as the Glasgow Fair.

West Glasgow

Glasgow grew over the following centuries, and the founding of the University of Glasgow in 1451 and elevation of the bishopric to an archbishopric in 1492 increased the town's religious and educational status.

Daniel Defoe visited the city in the early 18th century and famously opined in his book A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain, that Glasgow was "the cleanest and beautifullest, and best built city in Britain, London excepted."^[10] At that time, the city's population numbered approximately 12,000, and was yet to undergo the massive changes to the city's economy and urban fabric, brought about by the influences of the Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution.

After the Acts of Union in 1707, Scotland gained trading access to the vast markets of the British Empire and Glasgow became prominent in international commerce as a hub of trade to the Americas, especially in the movement of tobacco, cotton and sugar into the deep water port that had been created by city merchants at Port Glasgow.^[11] By the late 18th century more than half of the British tobacco trade was concentrated on Glasgow's River Clyde, with over 47 million lbs. weight of tobacco being imported at its peak.^[12]

In its subsequent industrial era, Glasgow produced textiles, engineered goods and steel, which were exported. The opening of the Monkland Canal in 1791, facilitated access to the Iron-ore and Coal mines in Lanarkshire. After extensive engineering projects to dredge and deepen the Clyde, Shipbuilding became a major industry on the upper stretches of the river, building many famous ships (although many were actually built in Clydebank). Glasgow's population had surpassed that of Edinburgh by 1821. By the end of the 19th century the city was known as the "Second City of the Empire" and by 1870 was producing more than half Britain's tonnage of shipping^[13] and a quarter of all locomotives in the world.^[14] During this period, the construction of many of the city's greatest architectural masterpieces and most ambitious civic projects, like the Loch Katrine aqueduct and Subway, were being funded by its wealth.

From the late 1840s onwards, vast numbers of Irish Catholics settled in Glasgow. Originally forced to flee Ireland due to the Great Famine, the Irish continued to immigrate into the City of Glasgow in huge numbers for the rest of the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries, driven to the city by economic stagnation at home. Many of these Irish Catholics came from County Donegal, a large county in the west of Ulster. This Irish immigration has given Glasgow a large Catholic population.

Glasgow's financial district has been expanding along the River Clyde and increasingly incorporates former dockland areas.

The 20th century witnessed both decline and renewal in the city. After World War I, the city suffered from the impact of the Post-World War I recession and from the later Great Depression, this also led to a rise of radical socialism and the "Red Clydeside" movement. The city had recovered by the outbreak of the Second World War and grew through the post-war boom that lasted through the 1950s. However by the 1960s, a lack of investment and innovation led to growing overseas competition in countries like Japan and Germany which weakened the once pre-eminent position of many of the city's industries. As a result of this, Glasgow entered a lengthy period of relative economic decline and rapid deindustrialisation, leading to high unemployment, urban decay, population decline, welfare dependency and poor health for the city's inhabitants. There were active attempts at regeneration of the city, when the Glasgow Corporation published its controversial Bruce Report, which set out a comprehensive series of initiatives aimed at turning round the decline of the city. There are also accusations that the Scottish Office had deliberately attempted to undermine Glasgow's economic and political influence in post-war Scotland by preventing the creation of new industries and creating the new towns of Cumbernauld, Glenrothes, Irvine, Livingston and East Kilbride, dispersed across the Scottish Lowlands, in order to halve the city's population base.^[15]

However, by the late 1980s, there had been a significant resurgence in Glasgow's economic fortunes. The 'Glasgow's miles better' campaign, launched in 1983, facilitated Glasgow's new role as a European centre for business services and finance and promoted an increase in tourism and inward investment.^[16] The latter continues to be bolstered by the legacy of the city's status as European City of Culture in 1990, and concerted attempts to diversify the city's economy.^[17] This economic revival has persisted and the ongoing regeneration of inner-city areas, including the largescale Clyde Waterfront Regeneration, has led to more affluent people moving back to live in the centre of Glasgow, fuelling allegations of gentrification.^[18] The city now resides in the Mercer index of top 50 safest cities in the world.^[19] Despite Glasgow's economic renaissance, the east end of the city remains the focus of severe social deprivation.^[20] A Glasgow Economic Audit report published in 2007 stated that the gap between prosperous and deprived areas of the city is widening.^[21] In 2006, 47% of Glasgow's population lived in the most deprived 15% of areas in Scotland,^[21] while the Centre for Social Justice reported 29.4% of the city's working-age residents to be "economically inactive".^[20] Although marginally behind the UK average, Glasgow still has a higher employment rate than Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.^[21]

Toponymy

It is common to derive the name Glasgow from the older Cumbric glas cau or a Middle Gaelic cognate, which would have meant green hollow. The settlement probably had an earlier Cumbric name, Cathures; the modern name appears for the first time in the Gaelic period (1116), as Glasgu. However, it is also recorded that the King of Strathclyde, Rhydderch Hael, welcomed Saint Kentigern (also known as Saint Mungo), and procured his consecration as bishop about 540. For some thirteen years Kentigern laboured in the region, building his church at the Molendinar Burn, and making many converts. A large community developed around him and became known as Glasgu (meaning the dear Green or the dear green place).

Heraldry

The coat of arms of the City of Glasgow as granted in 1866.

The coat of arms of the City of Glasgow, as granted to the royal burgh by the Lord Lyon on 25 October, 1866.^[22] It incorporates a number of symbols and emblems associated with the life of Glasgow's patron saint, Mungo, which had been used on official seals prior to that date. The emblems represent miracles supposed to have been performed by Mungo and are listed in the traditional rhyme:

Here's the bird that never flew

Here's the tree that never grew

Here's the bell that never rang

Here's the fish that never swam

Mungo is also said to have preached a sermon containing the words Lord, Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word and the praising of thy name. This was abbreviated to "Let Glasgow Flourish" and adopted as the city's motto. The motto was more recently commemorated in a song called "Mother Glasgow", which was written by Dundonian singer/songwriter Michael Marra, but popularised by Hue and Cry.

St Mungo's Bell.

The supporters are two salmon bearing rings, and the crest is a half length figure of Saint Mungo. He wears a bishop's mitre and liturgical vestments and has his hand raised in "the act of benediction". The original 1866 grant placed the crest atop a helm, but this was removed in subsequent grants. The current version (1996) has a gold mural crown between the shield and the crest. This form of coronet, resembling an embattled city wall, was allowed to the four area councils with city status.

The arms were rematriculated by the City of Glasgow District Council on 6 February, 1975, and by the present area council on 25 March, 1996. The only change made on each occasion was in the type of coronet over the arms.^[23][24]

Poltics

Glasgow City Chambers is the headquarters of Glasgow City Council and the seat of Local Government in the city.

Industrial action at the shipyards gave rise to the "Red Clydeside" epithet. During the 1930s, Glasgow was the main base of the Independent Labour Party. Towards the end of the 20th century it became a centre of the struggle against the poll tax, and then the main base of the Scottish Socialist Party, a far left party in Scotland.

Scottish Parliament region

The Glasgow electoral region of the Scottish Parliament covers the Glasgow City council area, the Rutherglen area of the South Lanarkshire and a small eastern portion of Renfrewshire. It elects ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituency members and seven of the 56 additional members. Both kinds of member are known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The system of election is designed to produce a form of proportional representation.

The first past the post seats were created in 1999 with the names and boundaries of then existing Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies. In 2005, however, the number of Westminster Members of Parliament (MPs) representing Scotland was cut to 59, with new constituencies being formed, while the existing number of MSPs was retained at Holyrood.

The ten Scottish Parliament constituencies in the Glasgow electoral region are:-

• Glasgow Anniesland
• Glasgow Baillieston
• Glasgow Cathcart
• Glasgow Govan
• Glasgow Kelvin
• Glasgow Maryhill
• Glasgow Pollok
• Glasgow Rutherglen
• Glasgow Shettleston
• Glasgow Springburn

United Kingdom Parliament constituencies

Following reform of constituencies of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament (Westminster) in 2005, which reduced the number of Scottish Members of Parliament (MPs), the current Westminster constituencies representing Glasgow are:-

• Glasgow Central
• Glasgow East
• Glasgow North
• Glasgow North East
• Glasgow North West
• Glasgow South
• Glasgow South West

Geography

Glasgow is located on the banks of the River Clyde, in West Central Scotland. Its second most important river is the Kelvin whose name was used for creating the title of Baron Kelvin and thereby ended up as the scientific unit of temperature.

Climate

Rain at Glasgow Necropolis.

The spring months (March to May) are mild and cool. Many of Glasgow's trees and plants begin to flower at this time of the year and parks and gardens are filled with spring colours. The summer months (May to September) can vary considerably between mild and wet weather or warm and sunny. The winds are generally westerly, due to the warm Gulf Stream. The warmest month is usually July, the daily high averaging . (Highest recorded temperature 4 August 1975.) Despite some infrequent clear or dry days, winters in Glasgow are normally damp and cold. (Lowest recorded temperature 29 December 1995). However, the Gulf Stream ensures that Glasgow stays warmer than other cities at the same latitude such as Moscow . Winds and rainfall are often fairly chilling and strong, like the rest of western Scotland. Severe snowfalls melt within days and rarely lie in the city centre. December, January and February are the wettest months of the year, but can often be sunny and clear.

Demography

The population of the Glasgow City Council area peaked in the 1950s at 1,200,000 people and before that for 80 years was over 1 million. During this period, Glasgow was one of the most densely populated cities in the world. After the 1960s, clearings of poverty-stricken inner city areas like the Gorbals and relocation to 'new towns' such as East Kilbride and Cumbernauld led to population decline. In addition, the boundaries of the city were changed twice during the late 20th century, making direct comparisons difficult. The city continues to expand beyond the official city council boundaries into surrounding suburban areas, encompassing around if all adjoining suburbs, commuter towns and villages are included.

Cineworld on Renfrew Street is the world's tallest cinema.

There are two distinct definitions for the population of Glasgow; the Glasgow City Council Area (which lost the districts of Rutherglen and Cambuslang to South Lanarkshire in 1996) and the Greater Glasgow Urban Area which includes the conurbation around the city.

Since the 1840s to present day, massive numbers of Irish immigrants have settled and contributed immensely in the city. Numerous Scottish Highlanders also migrated to the city as a result of the Highland Clearances. The Irish, and to a lesser extent Highlanders, contributed to the explosive growth of Roman Catholicism in the city.^[25][26]

In the early 20th century, many Lithuanian refugees began to settle in Glasgow and at its height in the 1950s there were around 10,000 in the Glasgow area.^[27] Many Italian-Scots also settled in Glasgow, originating from areas like Frosinone and Lucca at this time, many originally working as "Hokey Pokey" men.^[28] In the 1960s and '70s, many Asian-Scots also settled in Glasgow, mainly in the Pollokshields area. These number 30,000 Pakistanis, 15,000 Indians and 3,000 bangladeshis as well as Cantonese immigrants, many of whom settled in the Garnethill area of the city. Since 2000, the UK government has pursued a policy of dispersal of asylum seekers to ease pressure on social housing in the London area. Glasgow has seen waves of new arrivals because of this policy, though not always smoothly in some districts.

Since the 2001 census the population decline has stabilised. The 2004 population of the city council area was 685,090 and the population of both the City of Glasgow Council area and Greater Glasgow are forecast to grow in the near future. Around 2,300,000 people live in the Glasgow travel to work area.^[9] This area is defined as having 10% and over of residents travelling into Glasgow to work, and has no fixed boundaries.^[32]

Compared to Inner London, which has .,^[33] Scotland's major city has less than half the current population density of the English capital— However, in 1931 the population density was , highlighting the subsequent 'clearances' to the suburbs and new towns that were built to empty one of Europe's most densely populated cities.^[34]

Glagow has the lowest life expectancy of any UK city at 72.9 years.^[35] Much was made of this during the 2008 Glasgow East by-election.^[36] In 2008, a World Health Organisation report about health inequalities, revealing that male life expectancy varied from 54 in Calton to 82 in nearby Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire.^[37][38]

Economy

HMS Daring was built in Glasgow and launched in 2006. Although diminished from its early 20th century heights, Glasgow remains the hub of the UK's Shipbuilding industry.

Glasgow Tower is currently Glasgow's and Scotland's tallest tower.

Glasgow's economy has seen significant growth of tertiary sector industries such as financial and business services, communications, biosciences, creative industries, healthcare, higher education, retail and tourism. Between 1998 and 2001, the city's financial services sector grew at a rate of 30%, making considerable gains on Edinburgh, which has historically been the centre of the Scottish financial sector.^[43][44] Glasgow is the second most popular foreign tourist destination in Scotland (fourth in the UK)^[21] and its largest retail centre. Glasgow is also one of Europe's sixteen largest financial centres.

The city retains a strong link to the manufacturing sector which accounts for well over 60% of Scotland's manufactured exports, with particular strengths in shipbuilding, engineering, food and drink, printing, publishing, chemicals and textiles as well as new growth sectors such as optoelectronics, software development and biotechnology. Glasgow forms the western part of the Silicon Glen high tech sector of Scotland. A growing number of Blue chip financial sector companies have significant operations or headquarters in the city.

Architecture

The western façade of Templeton's Carpet Factory.

Glasgow City Chambers, George Square.

The city is notable for architecture designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Mackintosh was an architect and designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and the main exponent of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom, designing numerous noted Glasgow buildings such as the Glasgow School of Art, Willow Tearooms and the Scotland Street School. A hidden gem of Glasgow, also designed by Mackintosh, is the Queen's Cross Church, the only church by the renowned artist to be built.^[45]

Another architect who had an enduring impact on the city's appearance was Alexander Thomson. Thomson produced a distinctive style of architecture based on fundamentalist classicism that gave him the nickname "Greek". Examples of Thomson's work can be found over the city,^[46] with notable examples including the Holmwood House villa and St. Vincent Street Church.

The buildings reflect the wealth and self confidence of the residents of the "Second City of the Empire". Glasgow generated immense wealth from trade and the industries that developed from the Industrial Revolution. The shipyards, marine engineering, steel making, and heavy industry all contributed to the growth of the city. At one time the expression "Clydebuilt" was synonymous with quality and engineering excellence.^[47] The Templeton's carpet factory on Glasgow Green was designed to resemble the Doge's Palace in Venice and epitomises Glaswegians' desire to demonstrate architectural opulence during this era.^[48]

The Holmwood House villa in Cathcart, designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson.

Many of the city's most impressive buildings were built with red or blond sandstone, but during the industrial era those colours disappeared under a pervasive black layer of soot and pollutants from the furnaces, until the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956. In recent years many of these buildings have been cleaned and restored to their original appearance.

Western façade of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art.

Modern buildings in Glasgow include the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and along the banks of the Clyde are the Glasgow Science Centre and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, whose Clyde Auditorium was designed by Sir Norman Foster, and is affectionately known as the "Armadillo". Zaha Hadid won a competition to design the new Museum of Transport, which will move to the waterfront.^[49]

Glasgow's impressive historical and modern architectural traditions were celebrated in 1999 when the city was designated UK City of Architecture and Design,^[50] winning the accolade over Liverpool and Edinburgh.^[51]

Typical red sandstone Glasgow south side tenement (Shawlands).

Sir Norman Foster's Clyde Auditorium. Colloquially known as the "Armadillo".

Like many cities in the UK, Glasgow witnessed the construction of high-rise housing in tower blocks in the 1960s.^[55] These were built to replace the decaying tenement buildings originally built for workers who migrated from the surrounding countryside, the Highlands, and the rest of the United Kingdom, particularly Ireland, in order to feed the local demand for labour.^[56] The massive demand outstripped new building and many, originally fine, tenements often became overcrowded and unsanitary. ^[57] Many developed into the infamous Glasgow slums, such as the Gorbals. Efforts to improve this housing situation, most successfully with the City Improvement Trust, cleared the slums of the old town. Subsequent urban renewal initiatives, such as those motivated by the Bruce Report, entailed the demolition of slum tenement areas, the development of new towns on the periphery of the city, and the construction of tower blocks. The areas surrounding these tower blocks lacked basic amenities, were poorly designed and cheaply built. As demonstrated elsewhere in the UK, such buildings gradually deteriorated, attracting crime and fostering a reputation for being undesirable low cost housing.

The policy of tenement demolition is now considered to have been short-sighted, wasteful and largely unsuccessful. Many of Glasgow's worst tenements were refurbished into desirable accommodation in the 1970s and 1980s^[58] and the policy of demolition is considered to have destroyed many fine examples of a "universally admired architectural" style.^[53] The Glasgow Housing Association took ownership of the housing stock from the city council on 7 March 2003, and has begun a £96 million clearance and demolition programme to clear and demolish many of the high-rise flats.^[59]

Districts and suburbs

Glasgow was historically based around Glasgow Cathedral, the old High Street and down to the River Clyde via Glasgow Cross. The boundaries of Glasgow have changed on several occasions for political purposes, with many places that view themselves as part of Glasgow falling outwith the Glasgow City local authority created in 1996. For further information on what places are within the city council area and those that lie outwith but are included in other definitions of Glasgow, see the List of places in Glasgow page.

City centre

The city centre is bounded by the High Street to the east, the River Clyde to the south and the M8 motorway to the west and north which was built through the Townhead, Charing Cross, Cowcaddens and Anderston areas in the 1960s.

Buchanan Street at night, looking southward behind the Donald Dewar statue.

Retail and theatre district

The city centre is based on a grid system of streets, similar to that of Barcelona or American cities, on the north bank of the River Clyde. The heart of the city is George Square, site of many of Glasgow's public statues and the elaborate Victorian Glasgow City Chambers, headquarters of Glasgow City Council. To the south and west are the shopping precincts of Argyle, Sauchiehall and Buchanan Streets, the latter featuring more upmarket retailers and winner of the Academy of Urbanism 'Great Street Award' 2008.^[60]

Buchanan Street at night.

The main shopping centres are Buchanan Galleries and the St. Enoch Centre, with the up-market Princes Square and the Italian Centre specialising in designer labels. The London-based department store Selfridges has purchased a potential development site in the city and another upmarket retail chain Harvey Nichols is also thought to be planning a store in the city, further strengthening Glasgow's retail portfolio, which forms the UK's second largest and most economically important retail sector after Central London.^[61][62] The layout of the approximately two and a half mile long retail district of Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street has been termed the "Golden Z".^[63]

The city centre is home to most of Glasgow's main cultural venues: The Theatre Royal (home of Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet), The Pavilion, The King's Theatre, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow Film Theatre, RSAMD, Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Mitchell Library, the Centre for Contemporary Arts, McLellan Galleries and The Lighthouse Museum of Architecture, Design and the City. The world's tallest cinema, the eighteen-screen Cineworld is sited on Renfrew Street. The city centre is also home to four of Glasgow's higher education institutions: The University of Strathclyde, The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow School of Art and Glasgow Caledonian University.

Merchant City

The Tolbooth Steeple at dusk. The Steeple dominates Glasgow Cross and marks the east side of the Merchant City.

Royal Exchange Square at night (Merchant City)

From the late 1980s onwards, the Merchant City has been rejuvenated with luxury city centre apartments and warehouse conversions. This regeneration has supported an increasing number of cafés and restaurants.^[65] The area is also home to a number of high end boutique style shops and some of Glasgow's most upmarket stores.^[66]

The Merchant City is the centre of Glasgow's growing 'cultural quarter', based around King Street, the Saltmarket and Trongate, and at the heart of the annual Merchant City Festival. The area has supported a huge growth in art galleries, the origins of which can be found in the late 80s when it attracted artist-led organisations that could afford the cheap rents required to operate in vacant manufacturing or retail spaces.^[67] The artistic and cultural potential of the Merchant City as a 'cultural quarter' was harnessed by independent arts organisations and Glasgow City Council^[67], and the recent development of Trongate 103, which houses galleries, workshops, artist studios and production spaces, is considered a major outcome of the continued partnership between both.^[68] The area also contains a number of theatres and concert venues, including the Tron Theatre, the Old Fruitmarket, the Trades Hall, St. Andrews in the Square, Merchant Square, and the City Halls.^[69]

A large part of Glasgow's LGBT scene is located within the Merchant City. This includes many clubs, and the UK gay chain store Clone Zone, along with a couple of saunas. Recently the city council defined (and perhaps expanded) the area known as Merchant City as far west as Buchanan Street, marking these boundaries with new, highly stylised metal signage.^[70]

Financial district

Clyde Arc.

West End

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is Glasgow's premier museum and art gallery, housing one of Europe's great civic art collections.

Popular with students and professionals alike is Ashton Lane with its many pubs and bars.

The West End includes residential areas of Hillhead, Dowanhill, Kelvingrove, Kelvinside, Hyndland, and, to an increasing extent, Partick. However, the name is increasingly being used to refer to any area to the west of Charing Cross. This includes areas such as Scotstoun, Jordanhill, Kelvindale and Anniesland.

The West End is bisected by the River Kelvin which flows from the Kilsyth Hills in the North and empties into the River Clyde at Yorkhill Basin.

The spire of Sir George Gilbert Scott's Glasgow University main building (the second largest Gothic Revival building in Britain) is a major local landmark, and can be seen from miles around, sitting atop Gilmorehill. The university itself is the fourth oldest in the English-speaking world. Much of the city's student population is based in the West End, adding to its cultural vibrancy.

The area is also home to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Hunterian Museum, Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Henry Wood Hall (home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra) and the Museum of Transport, which is to be rebuilt on a former dockland site at Glasgow Harbour to a design by Zaha Hadid. The West End Festival, one of Glasgow's largest festivals, is held annually in June.

Glasgow is the home of the SECC, the United Kingdom's largest exhibition and conference centre.^[72][73] A major expansion of the SECC facilities at the former Queen's Dock by Foster and Partners is currently planned, including a 12,000 seat arena, and a 5 star hotel and entertainments complex.

East End

The People's Palace in Glasgow Green.

The East End extends from Glasgow Cross in the City Centre to the boundary with North and South Lanarkshire. It is home to the famous Glasgow Barrowland Market, popularly known as 'The Barras',^[74] Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow Green, and Celtic Park, home of Celtic F.C.. Many of the original sandstone tenements remain in this district. The East End in contrast to the West End, includes some of the most deprived areas in the UK. The Glasgow Necropolis Cemetery was created on a hill above the Cathedral of Saint Mungo in 1831. Routes curve through the landscape uphill to the high statue of John Knox at the summit.

There are two late 18th century tenements in Gallowgate. Dating from 1771 and 1780, both have been well restored. The construction of Charlotte Street was financed by David Dale, whose former pretensions can be gauged by the one remaining house, now run by the National Trust for Scotland. Further along Charlotte Street there stands a modern Gillespie, Kidd & Coia building of some note. Once a school, it has been converted into offices. Surrounding these buildings are a series of innovative housing developments conceived as 'Homes for the Future', part of a project during the city's year as UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999.^[75]

East of Glasgow Cross is the Saint Andrew's Church, built in 1746 and displaying a Presbyterian grandeur befitting the church of the city's wealthy tobacco merchants. Also close by is the more modest Episcopalian Saint Andrew's-by-the-Green, the oldest post-Reformation church in Scotland.

The Doulton Fountain in Glasgow Green.

Overlooking Glasgow Green is the façade of Templeton's carpet factory, featuring vibrant polychromatic brickwork intended to evoke the Doge's Palace in Venice.^[48]

The extensive Tollcross Park was originally developed from the estate of James Dunlop, the owner of a local steelworks. His large baronial mansion was built in 1848 by David Bryce, which later housed the city's Children's Museum until the 1980s. Today, the mansion is a sheltered housing complex.

The new Scottish National Indoor Sports Arena, a modern replacement for the Kelvin Hall, is planned for Dalmarnock. The area will also be the site of the Athletes' Village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, located adjacent to the new indoor sports arena.

To the north of the East End lie the two massive gasometers of Provan Gas Works, which stand overlooking Alexandra Park and a major interchange between the M8 and M80 motorways. Often used for displaying large city advertising slogans, the towers have become an unofficial portal into the city for road users arriving from the north and east.

South Side

House for an Art Lover is situated in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow.

Glasgow's South Side sprawls out south of the Clyde, covering areas including Gorbals, Shawlands, Simshill, Strathbungo, Cardonald, Mount Florida, Pollokshaws, Nitshill, Pollokshields, Battlefield, Langside, Govanhill, Crosshill, Ibrox, Cessnock, Mosspark, Kinning Park, Govan, Mansewood, Arden, Darnley, Newlands, Deaconsbank, Pollok, Croftfoot, Castlemilk, King's Park, Cathcart, Muirend and Barrhead, Busby, Clarkston, Giffnock, Thornliebank, Netherlee, and Newton Mearns in the East Renfrewshire council area, as well as Cambuslang, East Kilbride, and Rutherglen in the South Lanarkshire council area.

Glasgow Tower and IMAX Cinema at the Glasgow Science Centre.

Although predominantly residential, the area does have several notable public buildings including, Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Scotland Street School Museum and House for an Art Lover; the world famous Burrell Collection in Pollok Country Park; Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Holmwood House villa; the National Football Stadium Hampden Park in Mount Florida, (home of Queens Park F.C.) and Ibrox Stadium, (home of Rangers F.C.).

Queen's Park, Glasgow. Looking towards Queen's Park Baptist Church in winter.

The former docklands site at Pacific Quay on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the SECC, is the site of the Glasgow Science Centre and the new headquarters for BBC Scotland and SMG plc (owner of STV) which have relocated there to a new purpose built digital media campus.

In addition, several new bridges spanning the River Clyde have been built or are currently planned, including the Clyde Arc at Pacific Quay and others at Tradeston and Springfield Quay.

The South Side also includes many great parks, including Linn Park, Queen's Park, Bellahouston Park and Rouken Glen Park, and several golf clubs, including the championship course at Haggs Castle. The South Side is also home to Pollok Country Park, which was awarded the accolade of Europe's Best Park 2008.^[76] Pollok Park is Glasgow?s largest park and the only country park within the city boundaries. It is also home to Pollok Cricket Club.

Govan is a district and former burgh in the south-western part of the city. It is situated on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite Partick. It was an administratively independent Police Burgh from 1864 until it was incorporated into the expanding city of Glasgow in 1912. Govan has a legacy as an engineering and shipbuilding centre of international repute and is home to one of two BAE Systems shipyards on the River Clyde and the precision engineering firm, Thales Optronics. It is also home to the Southern General Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in the country, and the maintenance depot for the Glasgow Subway system.

North Glasgow

North Glasgow extends out from the north of the city centre towards the affluent suburbs of Bearsden, Milngavie and Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire and Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire. However, the area also contains some of the city's poorest residential areas. Possilpark is one such area, where levels of unemployment and drug abuse continue to be above the national average. Much of the housing in areas such as Possilpark and Hamiltonhill had fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years. This has led to large scale redevelopment of much of the poorer housing stock in north Glasgow, and the wider regeneration of many areas, such as Ruchill, which have been transformed; many run-down tenements have now been refurbished or replaced by modern housing estates. Much of the housing stock in north Glasgow is rented social housing, with a high proportion of high-rise tower blocks, managed by the Glasgow Housing Association.

The Forth and Clyde Canal at the north Glasgow district of Ruchill.

The Forth and Clyde Canal passes through this part of the city, and at one stage formed a vital part of the local economy. It was for many years polluted and largely unused after the decline of heavy industry, but recent efforts to regenerate and re-open the canal to navigation have seen it rejuvenated.

Sighthill is home to Scotland?s largest asylum seeker community, many of whom live in extreme poverty.

A huge part of the economic life of Glasgow was once located in Springburn, where the engineering works of firms like Charles Tennant and locomotive workshops employed many Glaswegians. Indeed, Glasgow dominated this type of manufacturing, with 25% of all the world?s locomotives being built in the area at one stage. It was home to the headquarters of the North British Locomotive Company. Today the French engineering group Alstom's railway maintenance facility in the area is all that is left of the industry in Springburn.

Culture

Established by wealthy tobacco merchant Stephen Mitchell, the Mitchell Library is now one of the largest public reference libraries in Europe.

GoMA is the second most visited contemporary art gallery in the United Kingdom outside London.^[77]

The city has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, from curling to opera, ballet and from football to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, and modern art. Many of the city's cultural sites were celebrated in 1990 when Glasgow was designated European City of Culture.^[78]

The city's principal library, the Mitchell Library, has grown into one of Europe's largest public reference libraries in Europe, currently housing some 1.3 million books, a extensive collection of newspapers and thousands of photographs and maps.^[79]

Most of Scotland's national arts organisations are based in Glasgow, including Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, The National Theatre of Scotland, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Youth Theatre.

Glasgow has its own "Poet Laureate", a post created in 1999 for Edwin Morgan^[80] and as of 2007 occupied by Liz Lochhead.

Recreation

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

The city has hosted many exhibitions over the years, including being the UK City of Architecture 1999, European Capital of Culture 1990, National City of Sport 1995?1999 and European Capital of Sport 2003.

In addition, unlike the older and larger Edinburgh Festival (where all Edinburgh's main festivals occur in the last three weeks of August), Glasgow's festivals fill the calendar. Festivals include the Glasgow Comedy Festival, Glasgow Jazz Festival, Celtic Connections, Glasgow Film Festival, West End Festival, Merchant City Festival, Glasgay, and the World Pipe Band Championships.

Music scene

Glasgow SECC.

In recent years, the success of bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai and Biffy Clyro has significantly boosted the profile of the Glasgow music scene, prompting Time Magazine to liken Glasgow to Detroit during its 1960s Motown heyday.^[81] More recent successes include The Fratellis and Glasvegas. The city of Glasgow was appointed a UNESCO City of Music on 20th August 2008 as part of the Creative Cities Network.

Media

BBC Scotland's headquarters in Glasgow's Pacific Quay

Daily Record HQ, Glasgow.

Various radio stations are also located in Glasgow. Emap plc (formerly Scottish Radio Holdings) owns the principal commercial radio stations in Glasgow; Clyde 1 and Clyde 2, which can reach over 2.3 million listeners.^[82] In 2004, SMG plc sold its 27.8% stake in Scottish Radio Holdings to the broadcasting group EMAP for £90.5 m. Other stations broadcasting from Glasgow include Smooth Radio 105.2, Real Radio and 96.3 Rock Radio, which are all owned by GMG Radio. Central Scotland radio station XFM Scotland also broadcast from studios in Glasgow. This station is notable