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Glasgow's public parks and the community, 1850–1914: a case study in Scottish civic interventionism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2009

Irene Maver
Irene Maver
Affiliation:
Dept of History, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QH
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Abstract

From the mid-nineteenth century Glasgow's civic leaders recognized the effect that the rapidly deteriorating urban fabric was having on perceptions of the city, and began to construct a more positive identity, intended to inspire faith in municipal government. The landscape played a crucial part in selling this ideal. Parks were used as visible evidence of civic beneficence, and (deriving much influence from evangelical Presbyterianism) also served as a potent symbol of regeneration. However, while this paper considers the success of public parks in boosting Glasgow's image between 1850 and 1914, it also examines the complex material motivations originally underlying civic involvement, the impact of the environment in determining parks' policy and the influence of other British and European cities in shaping ideas.

Type
Dyos Prize
Information
Urban History , Volume 25 , Issue 3: Special Issue: Civil Society in Britain , December 1998 , pp. 323 - 347
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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