Data to be deployed to help shape town centres in and around Glasgow
USING data to help shape the future of towns in and around Glasgow city centre, plus the city centre itself, has been identified in a new economic strategy launched for the area.
The Glasgow City Region comprises the local authorities: East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire.
In other words, 1.8m residents and an estimated 50,000 businesses.
And among the key aims of the strategy is “to use market intelligence and the latest data technology to help us understand shifting demands and allow regional policy makers to create programmes to support our city and town centres, based on clear real-time evidence of how and when they are being used”.
Says a media announcement, here, the strategy follows months of research with several key partners “across the councils, government agencies, local universities, the business and third sectors”.
In the wider strategy document (here), it is noted that the River Clyde is arguably “the greatest untapped development opportunity in Western Europe”, with “swathes of vacant and derelict land”, notwithstanding the fact that an estimated 100,000 people live with 500m of the river.
Glasgow City Region is a partner in a river-based initiative being led by the Scottish Government: Clyde Mission.
A key aim of the new economic strategy is addressing the climate emergency, including managing the risk of rising sea level, flooding, coastal erosion and heatwaves.
Picture credit: Glasgow City Council