Building Modern Scotland - A Social and Architectural History of the New Towns, 1947-1997

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 book will appeal to historians of modern architecture and design as well as readers interested in modern social history. It provides a new account of modern Scotland, its buildings, places and people, and argues that a better understanding of the new towns'' history and value should inform present-day decision-making. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

List of contents

Preface: Note on Authorship
About the Authors
Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part 1: Architecture
1. East Kilbride
2. Glenrothes
3. Cumbernauld
4. Livingston
5. Irvine

Part 2: Life
6. Homes
7. Families
8. Community
9. Opportunity

Conclusion: 'Out of the Ordinary'

Interviewees
Bibliography of Published Sources

About the author

Alistair Fair, Lynn Abrams, Kat Breen, Miles Glendinning, Diane Watters and Valerie Wright

Product details

• Authors: Lynn Abrams, Abrams Lynn, Kat Breen, Alistair Fair, Glendinn, Glendinning Miles, Watters Diane, Wright Valerie
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 05.03.2026
• EAN: 9781350401747
• ISBN: 978-1-350-40174-7
• No. of pages: 240
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Architecture; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, European History, Scotland, Social & cultural history, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / Scotland, ARCHITECTURE / History / Contemporary (1945-), British & Irish history, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Social and cultural history, History of Architecture, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period)