The rise of internet shopping devastated many city centres. Then the abrupt increase in working from home after the Covid pandemic hit only added to the exodus. Fewer office workers meant even less passing trade for shops and cafes.
Amid genuine concern for the future, people began to raise the prospect of ‘doughnut’ cities in which everyone lives in a ring of suburbs around what is effectively an empty hole. In such a state, could a city still be said to be truly alive? However, encouraging news about Glasgow suggests that, while things are clearly still changing, there is life yet within the beating hearts of our communities. For, according to new figures, the number of people living in Glasgow city centre has gone up by about a third over the last 13 years, from 21,185 in 2011 to 28,341.
The city council, which adopted a city centre living strategy in 2019, aims to increase that number to 40,000 by 2035. The hope is that greater population density will boost the local economy – with passing trade from locals, rather than commuters – and make the city more sustainable. Angus Millar – the council’s convener for ‘City Centre Recovery’, a job title that speaks to the extent of the concern – said encouraging more people to live there was “essential for its future vitality”, and that they were working to “help make the city centre a more attractive place to live in”.
As might be expected, younger people are more attracted to urban living, with more than 80 per cent of the population aged between 16 and 44. For many, particularly those with families, a house with a garden in the suburbs will remain the dream, but Glasgow is demonstrating that city centre living is still in demand. The 10 biggest settlements in Scotland by population Internet shopping and working for home are both modern trends with considerable advantages, but they have also created problems.
In different places around the country, there will be different solutions but it is likely that persuading people of the benefits of city life will be a key part of the answer for most..
