Purpose
To develop the relationship between research, practice
and education in the field of urbanism with a focus on regeneration
and placemaking.
History
The Glasgow Urban Lab was founded in 2007, following the
successful reception of theLiving Citiesfeasibility study,
developed with financial assistance from the Scottish Funding
Council.Living Citiesrecommended an Urban Lab as a response to the
Glasgow Economic Forum's 10-year strategy calling for strategic
engagement between the city administration and its education
providers.
In its first year, co-funded by the Glasgow School of Art and
Glasgow City Council (GCC), under the leadership of Professor David
Porter and Professor Gerry Grams, it concentrated on establishing
new creative relationships between the different place-making
communities of the city: GCC's Development and Regeneration
Services (DRS), Architecture and Design Scotland and the
Development Trust Association Scotland (DTAS).
Recent
During the 2010/11 Academic Year the Urban Lab's work was able to
develop significantly: the arrival of our first Fulbright
Distinguished Chair also coincided with a new Head of Urbanism for
the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Prof Brian Evans. Brian is a
founder member of the Lab (with David Porter, Gerry Grams and
Stuart Gulliver) and was its first Chairperson.
Evans' first academic year at the Mack and the Lab coincided
with the city of Glasgow initiating a major visioning exercise,
Future Glasgow. (
http://www.glasgowcityvision.com/) The Glasgow Urban Lab was
invited to direct and shape the Programme of Topic-based Workshops
within the Future Glasgow exercise. This has enabled the Lab to
work collaboratively with a wide range of public health, transport,
economy, environmental, housing, and infrastructure policy-makers
and agencies. (The Lab worked closely with Kevin Murray Associates
who directed a complementary Programme of Public Engagement
Events.)
Prof Evans worked with a Future Glasgow team including Prof
Gerry Grams, (Group Leader for City Design at GCC and Honorary
Professor at the MSA), Jane Harrison (GCC's Group Leader for City
Centre Projects) and Alistair McDonald AoU (Head of Planning).
Senior GCC officers and senior MSA academic staff have contributed
to the writing up of the workshop reports, which are available
online. Future Glasgow is ongoing.
Currently
The Lab as a research unit continues to be a collaborative venture
between the Mackintosh School of Architecture (MSA) and Glasgow
City Council (GCC). It is funded by both. It is intended as an open
partnership and that further partners will be added as and when
appropriate.
The range of our projects and the way in which they
complement the work of each partner is intended to position the
Urban Lab as an invaluable reference point for cities and city
thinking. We are enthusiastic about our continued role and value in
the city.
Renaissance Towns
Professor Alan Simpson joined the Mackintosh School of
Architecture in September 2007 and immediately utilised the Lab as
a means of creating a Renaissance Towns initiative for Scotland,
working with partners A+DS, DTAS, East Renfrewshire Council and
Neilston Development Trust to create the Neilston Town Charter.
(This work was part-funded by the Planning Exchange Foundation.)
The partners' work in developing the Charter won the Scottish
Government'sScottish Awards for Quality in Place(Outstanding
Performance and Quality in Community Engagement Award) for 2009.
(Professor Simpson left at the end of 2009.)
Fulbright
Commission
A key element of the Lab's work to date has been the securing of
support from the Fulbright Commission to create a series of
Distinguished Chairs/Visiting Professorships over four academic
years.
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