Building a Modern Scotland: The New Towns, 1947–76 with Dr Alistair Fair

Between the late 1940s and the early 1970s, six new towns were begun across Scotland. Inspired by the ideals of the earlier Garden City Movement, the new towns were intended to offer new housing, employment and leisure opportunities – not least to those moving from overcrowded conditions in Glasgow. For policymakers, they reflected an ambition to build a new Scotland; for architects and designers, they were an opportunity to create new kinds of urban environments. In this talk, Dr Alistair Fair surveys what was planned, some of the key buildings, and what happened subsequently.

Download the full programme of lectures here

image: Irvine New Town Plan 1971 ©

Host or Publisher Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland