Glasgow Place Commission calls for the transfer of city assets to communities
October 14 2022
Glasgow City Council is considering a raft of recommendations on how to create and manage public spaces to prioritise economic growth, health and social benefits.
People make Places, prepared by the Place Commission for Glasgow, calls for the transfer of assets to communities, similar to the housing stock transfers of the last decade, as a means to kickstart physical and social regeneration at a neighbourhood level.
Billed as a 'Place Stock Transfer' this would see 'stranded' assets such as property, land and public goods passed on for management at a neighbourhood level where the local authority lacks resources to undertake proper maintenance.
Led by city urbanist professor Brian Evans the report lays out the challenges ahead in becoming a post-carbon city. Evans said: "Place is increasingly seen as the lens through which we need to plan, design and manage our quality of life within communities, neighbourhoods and across towns and cities. Placemaking is the hopeful complement to climate action to effect a just transition for people and their lives."
Council leader Susan Aitken added: “Professor Evans’ report provides a detailed picture of the progress - and indeed the lack of progress - of Glasgow’s transformation in recent decades and, crucially, how and where we need to go next.”
Council officers have been instructed to work with Evans to implement the recommendations at a later date; building on placemaking initiatives such as Clyde Gateway and Hamiltonhill Claypits.
8 Comments
While us sophisticates are here, care to tell us where the mountain of money the ScotGov are sitting on in order to wilfully inflict austerity upon us is? Cos whenever I check the annual spending review, it seems they account for nearly every penny. I mean, obviously, the deficit, fuelled mainly by interest levied upon a debt spiralling right now thanks to the weekly £70bn we're currently chugging at the gilts market takes more than it costs to run Scotland for a year so, come on, you know where the cash is to end this UKIP libertarian cheap-as-chips fever dream. So where is it?
Where did the money go?
Well there was the CT freeze that was middle class welfare.
Then you have the free tuition -- more middle class welfare.
Then you have the free tuition for the EU -- far away middle class welfare.
Any numbers ever published on this -- the total cost?
Ferry omnishambles -- all the money on failed builds / operational subsidy supporting a failing service?
Nat ego tripping with pretendy embassies.
The growing consultation industry -- delivers nothing but hot air.
Neo Liberal tax cuts -- just trying to be different from Westminster.
What has any of your bleating got to do with this article anyway? If there is a desire for community control in a community then why not give them that control?
The issue comes down to sustainability. Offloading communal assets; parks, community centres, sports facilities onto communities is not and can never be sustainable in the long term. Volunteers do a fantastic job in Scotland but the assets being disposed of, for the most part will never generate revenue. Without support they will wither and be lost to rapacious developers in the years to come. If we want quality open spaces, parks, and a bright environment, essential 'urban vitamins', then we have to plan and pay for them with seriousness. Civic life in the city should be free to all and competently funded. The proposed ad-hoc giveaway signalled by this new report represents a pitiful misunderstanding of how urban systems work. First and foremost, funding priorities must be reexamined with open space and community facilities being made a statutory responsibility.
The danger the approach now being advocated is that we trash urban spaces for ever...they will not be recoverable when they have gone.
A dereliction of duty by central government regarding the proper funding of local government.
A local government desperate to reduce its expenditure so any responsibilities that can be lost / hived off using flowery / trendy wendy / hyper current political language without trying to understand the complexities / potential downsides of the concept is a win to their blinkered eyes -- quick / bodge it / scarper.
Highly variable ability of communities to control / manage / afford a hodge-podge of the unwanted and the undeveloped local spaces -- there will be no just transition in all of this just affluent local worthies cherry picking council assets for their own benefit.
Nothing to do with democracy -- all to do with those with excess time / excess resources making their local micro area better with no thought for others in less abundant circumstances.
Post code politics at its very worst.
In time a public asset fire sale one step removed from the elected councillors / two steps removed from Holyrood.
South Africa 1991-1994 comes to mind -- public asset transfer to benefit an active minority / hobble an inactive majority.
Not good.
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Might work in areas with resource flexibility / surplus -- no chance in areas where survival is a day to day struggle.
Post code lottery then on the way -- city wide standards trashed because the Nats in Holyrood are ruling from the austerity playbook and trashing local services.
Post carbon city -- some parts of Glasgow are still in the steam age / low levels of personal mobility for one -- who writes this crap / who thinks this tripe?
Post carbon city -- where are the roads for all the battery electric vehicles / BEVs that will soon be with us? Or is it all going to be scooters and bikes with the casualty list that comes with it?
Second rate student politics would seem to be all the rage at the moment.