The Dispersal of Population from Congested Urban Centres in Scotland
| Published date | 01 June 1956 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1956.tb01481.x |
| Author | H. R. Smith |
| Date | 01 June 1956 |
The
Dispersal
of
Population
from
Congested Urban Centres
in
Scotland
By H. R.
SMITH,
C.B.
This talk was given
10
the Edinburgh and East
of
Scotland Group
of
the
Institute
on
12th January,
1956.
A4r.
Smith died
on
3rd February at
rhe age
of
49.
He was then Secretary
of
the Department
of
Health
for
Scotland.
In
an appreciation published
in
''
The Scotsman
''
on
the
following day Sir David Milne, Permanent Under-Secretary of State
for
Scotland, wrote that the death
of
Harold Smith
"
is
indeed a tragic
blow to Scottish administration
for
his
abilities were outstanding and
he
had much yet to give
to
the Scottish service."
HE
problems with which
I
propose to deal are those arising where
T
families in need of housing accommodation cannot be given
it
in the
area in which they reside because of congestion and other physical planning
conditions and must therefore be accommodated elsewhere. In such circum-
stances, there must be an
"
overspill "--as the planners call it-of population,
and it may be of industry
also,
from the congested area to other areas.
In Scotland
this
problem of relocating population arises only in the
industrial West. There a number of local authorities are already confronted,
or
will
be confronted over the next few years, with sizeable overspill problems.
I
need not go into detail, since by far the most formidable and complex
problem arises in the City of Glasgow and it seems
to
me that
it
may be more
interesting and practical
if
I
seek to illustrate some of the administrative
problems that arise by reference primarily to the Glasgow position.
CHARACTER
OF
THE PROBLEM IN GLASGOW
It
seems probable that within the next decade or
so
we shall witness a
very big change in the distribution of population in the West of Scotland.
In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the City
of
Glasgow and
the towns surrounding it were flooded with large numbers of immigrant
families, The problem of our time might be described as the reverse of this.
We must devise measures which
will
enable many thousands of people now
residing in Glasgow to find homes and work outside the city. And the
difference on this occasion from anything that has taken place in the past
is
that we must try to plan for this operation so that it may take place in an
orderly fashion.
The Glasgow overspill problem is the product
of
two main factors-
abnormal population congestion and severe topographical restrictions. In
both respects it is almost certainly true to say that no other
"
million-mark
conurbation "-to use the Barlow Report's description-suffers from such
exaggerated symptoms. A glance at a relief map of the Clyde Valley Area
will suffice to show the geographical barriers which surround the Basin of the
Clyde.
To
the north lie the Kilpatrick and Campsie Hills with their high
foothills;
to the east are the elevated, rocky or
boggy
moorlands on the
125
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