Living with Rain: Planning for Everyday Life in Glasgow [LAUNCH]

You’re walking through Glasgow in the height of summer. A heavy rain shower leaves behind a soaked urban street scene; the blonde sandstone tenements glisten while their windows reflect rays of sunlight. All around you is green. Trees, bushes, ferns, mosses, and grasses, bursting out from the seams of stone walls, pavements, cobbled lanes and chimney pots. Exuberant urban nature. People emerge from their makeshift shelters of bus stops, shop awnings or tenement entrances, or they shake down and peel off outer layers. Umbrellas are largely useless here on Europe’s windy edges. This is Glasgow, Britain’s wettest city, a city of stone in a wet temperate rainforest climate with some 1370mm of rain per year.

Dr Andrew Hoolachan will summarise findings from the research project 'Living with Rain: Planning for Everyday Life in Glasgow'. Rather than trying to mitigate rain through sustainable urban drainage solutions which we find around the world, the report proposes to move beyond merely managing rain, to fully living with rain - accepting Glasgow's inherent wet climate as part of how the planning system can support the urban experience.

The research drew on novel methods of participation: 20 participants submitted 'rain diaries' via WhatsApp, while three group walks in the rain took place. In conjunction with a deep-dive policy and practice analysis of Glasgow, as well as an international best practice scan, the report was able to evaluate existing conditions in Glasgow and provide key recommendations.

The report was voted on by Glasgow City Council to inform the upcoming City Development Plan, due to launch in 2027. At Archi-Fringe 2025, the report inspired the immersive sound exhibition 'You Are Not Made of Sugar' by Bobby Jewell & Andrey Chugunov.

Joining Andrew on a discussion panel will be:

• Gillian Dick, Spatial Planning Manager, Glasgow City Council
• Bobby Jewell, Sound Artist and Architectural Communications

Schedule

18.00 to 18.30: Arrivals and refreshments
18.30 to 19.15: Report Presentation
19.15 to 19.30: Break
19.30 to 20.00: Panel Discussion & Audience Q&A

"If it wusnae fir yer welleis, where would ye be?" - Billy Connolly.

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Host or Publisher Division of Urban Studies and Social Policy, University of Glasgow