Building Modern Scotland

Combining architectural and social history, this open access book tells for the first time the in-depth story of Scotland s new towns. One of the most significant episodes in modern architectural, urban and social history, Scotland s postwar new towns offered new housing, new ways of life and new jobs. Begun between the late 1940s and the late 1960s, the new towns East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine were a key element of the planned Welfare State, attracting international attention and widespread publicity. These were places of architectural innovation, and economic and social change. Building Modern Scotland tells a new history of the new towns, combining architectural and social history to illustrate what was planned, what was built, and how these places were experienced by the communities who lived and worked in them. It positions the new towns at the heart of modern Scottish history, showing how they represented an ambition to make a modern, transformed nation. The book surveys each new town s planning and design before turning to key topics such as housing, family life, work and opportunity, and community. Drawing on archives and oral history, the boo