Towards strong sustainability in Glasgow’s regeneration, a case-study of Dalmarnock and Sighthill

Abstract

Many European cities are changing as processes of regeneration aim to transform areas of dereliction and neglect into places where people want to work, play and live again. Simultaneously, cities are creating policies to become more sustainable in the wake of climate change. Regeneration provides a unique opportunity to restructure urban environments in an environmentally sustainable way.
Through studying two unique regeneration projects in Glasgow, Dalmarnock and Sighthill, this study aims to examine to what extent Glasgow has been successful in regenerating its city in an environmentally sustainable way. Additionally, it aims to define motivators and barriers to successful sustainable regeneration. An environmental assessment framework was designed to assess the environmental sustainability of the event-led regeneration projects in Dalmarnock and Sighthill. An additional framework including social, environmental and economic indicators was used to examine the attitudes of stakeholders to sustainability. It was found that while both developments featured elements of environmental sustainability, their incorporation could generally be attributed to the unique circumstances of the event-led developments rather than to a systematic commitment to environmental sustainability. Social, economic and environmental sustainability were often considered as substitutable and stakeholders often emphasized social sustainability. The two cases made a clear start on environmentally sustainable regeneration. However, for a future of sustainable regeneration, environmental sustainability needs to become a goal in itself rather than an incorporated aspect of social and economic sustainability.