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Building Better Cities: Delivering Growth and Opportunities
MINISTERIAL FOREWORD
Scotland's cities are rich in history. From the narrow, mediaeval closes of Edinburgh's Old Town to the magnificent Victorian splendour of Glasgow's Merchant City, our cities are known and admired throughout the world.
But just as our cities reflect the best of our past, their continued success is vital to our nation's future. Scotland's cities are the home to the majority of Scots; they are the engine rooms for the nation's economic growth and our main centres for higher education and the arts. That is why, two years ago, we embarked on the Cities Review.
We have spoken to hundreds of people, from council leaders to shop-owners, from university professors to community activists - each one with a stake in their city's future - and a stake in their country's future. Their views, together with the wealth of knowledge already held by the Executive, academics and others, formed the basis for the analysis report that accompanies our action plan.
During the course of our discussions we realised that we needed to broaden the scope of the review. It had originally been set up as a general review of each of the cities, a useful exercise in itself, but we have widened it to address the strategic importance and future role of each city in 21st-century Scotland.
And since our review began Stirling has become Scotland's sixth city. Our newest city was not included in our analysis discussions, but many of the lessons learned in the review of the other five cities will apply equally to Stirling.
This statement outlines a framework for addressing the challenges - and opportunities - facing each of our cities as they move confidently into the future. We want them to continue to grow as vibrant, sustainable places where people want to live and work.
We want our cities to work with their neighbours to ensure a considered approach right across Scotland to growth and opportunity.
And we want our cities to take their rightful place alongside their European counterparts as dynamic centres of excellence.
The Executive is signalling its commitment to Scotland's cities. We have established a 90m City Growth Fund. In addition, we have allocated 20m from the 2003-06 Scottish Budget for land reclamation, prioritised to the areas most affected.
But it is important to understand that this report is not the end of the process ... it is the beginning. The Scottish Executive does not have all the solutions, but working in partnership with city leaders and others, we have an historic opportunity to make our cities better places. It is a challenge my Ministerial colleagues and I look forward to tackling with you.
MARGARET CURRAN, MSP
Minister for Social Justice
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