Scotland

Typical Scottish gift shop

Ask anyone in the world to tell you about Scotland. The usual answer is castles, whisky, thistles, kilts, the Loch Ness monster, bagpipes, shortbread or golf. But we are a land of so much more.

We are a nation of innovation, culture, heritage, design, community, coasts and seas, mountains and forests, festivals, comedy, traditions and education.

The Scotland Pavilion for Expo 2010 was designed to answer the Expo brief, ‘Better City, Better Life’, to represent modern Scotland, to promote better cities with diverse community living and improved health, to promote Scottish innovations that will enable every citizen, not just those in our home nation, to live a better life, and to promote advances in sustainable energy production that could have global benefits.

This was the TV advert for Homecoming 2009, and although you will recognise some famous faces, it really doesn’t show very much of Scotland itself.

Scotland today

Scotland’s cities are as different as they are important. Their differences reflect their history, geography, people and economies. With the global downturn in the economies of many major countries, Scotland faces challenges in each of our cities. Whilst attempts to change the many problems of our nation have been widely funded in the boom years, with increased spending cuts it is likely that many improvement projects will be delayed, especially in the arts and culture field, with the government concentrating on what they see as essential spending. Therefore promoting the theme ‘Better City, Better Life’ through the pavilion design, I concentrated more on what initiatives and advances we have made recently, even in these challenging times and our wishes for the future.

Alzheimer's research at Scottish universities

From the giants of the Victorian era, when the Scots were at the forefront of the dynamic booms in heavy engineering and manufacturing, to the ground-breaking research taking place today at our top universities, Scotland has long been a world-class contributor in the spheres of innovation and creativity. World-class universities and research facilities have helped to place Scotland at the forefront of the dynamic biotechnology industry, an area where Scotland is growing 30% faster than the rest of Europe. Diagnostic Potentials Ltd, a spin-out project from Glasgow University, received a Scottish Council award for their pioneering work in improving the diagnosis of Alzheimers disease, while Dundee University is a key player in diabetes research and the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen is a world leader in obesity research.

Sophie Cave's installation "Expression" at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum (image credit: Graham Hutcheson)

The contemporary Scottish art scene is thriving, with our leading artists like Gerald Burns, Elaine Woo, Peter Howson, Lois Carson, John Bellany, Alison Watt, Jack Vettriano and Alex Cooper all finding their work hanging in the world’s most prestigious galleries and Scotland’s art schools have been producing world class artists for centuries. The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow has churned out such talents as Robert Carlyle, Sir Ian Richardson, Alan Cumming, James McAvoy and Tom Conti and we have an enviable theatrical reputation. We have opera houses, The Scottish Ballet, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra and authors such as James Kelman, A L Kennedy, Janice Galloway, Liz Lockhead, Alisdair Gray, Irvine Welsh, Ian Rankin and Andrew O’Hagan to be proud of. Music acts such as KT Tunstall, Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol through to more traditional acts like the Red Hot Chilli Pipers means that along with the traditional festivals and further education centres offering courses in music, Scotland has a strong musical heritage and future.

There are over 300 museums in Scotland and that collectively they serve over a million visitors every year. In Edinburgh there is the The Royal Museum and the Museum of Scotland which opened in 1998. In Glasgow there is the Hunterian Museum and the Kelvingrove Museum & art gallery which is the UK’s most visited museum outside London, as well as a host of work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh such as the Glasgow School of Art and the Mackintosh museum in Hillhead.

Prada jacket

For years, celebrated brands like Prada and Louis Vuitton have sourced rich textiles and fabrics from Scotland, like cashmere and Harris Tweed, incorporating them into their garments and accessories.  Scots are also building an international reputation, with the likes of Christopher Kane, from Bellshill, becoming Young Designer of The Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards 2006 and being compared to the late Gianni Versace.

Our perception abroad is of a proud nation but far too many people base their opinions on the film Braveheart and forget the wealth of talent, innovation, art and spirit that we actually have here. There have been issues that have affected us as a nation for many years, such as poor housing, obesity, poor health and drug abuse, which have all received significant funding and have seen improvements across the board but we now face wider issues that affect many other countries worldwide such as sustainability and environmental change and a rapidly ageing population. In a MORI poll for the general election of 2010, Scotland’s voters listed what they saw as the major issues facing Scotland. Unemployment/factory closure and a lack of industry came top, with 42% of the Scottish public having this as their major concern, and 34% of people thought the economy and current economic situation was their second highest concern. Third was schools and education at 28%. Fourth was the NHS at 22% and fifth was crime and anti social behaviour at 18%. Scottish independence was sixth at 13% with the environment, climate change and pollution seventh with 11% of the public. Housing was down at eight most important with 8% of the public and Immigration and race relations and transport joint ninth with 7%. The issue of drug abuse was bottom of the table

Our cities have already started to make significant changes that show that our country is committed to providing a ‘Better City, Better Life’ and we should continue to make improvements and using the Expo as a world stage to highlight how Scotland can tackle what are, in many cases, issues that affect cities all across the world.

Scotland’s Cities – Populations	Glasgow 577,980 Edinburgh 446,110 Aberdeen 179,950 Dundee 141,930 Inverness 42,400 Stirling 33,060
Birth rate	10.7 per 1,000 population
Death rate	11.0 per 1,000 population
Population growth rate:	0.4%
Life expectancy at birth:	male: 74.2 yrs female: 79.3 yrs
Literacy	99%

Prince's Park in Edinburgh

One of our major advantages in Scotland, compared to many cities across the world, is the fact that we are all lucky enough to live close to urban greenspaces, such as public and private gardens, parks and grounds, amenity land, sports and play areas, green corridors, natural and semi-natural areas, allotments and community growing spaces. There is nearly 85,000 hectares of greenspace in urban Scotland, the equivalent in size to 120,000 football pitches. Urban greenspaces boost physical activity and mental health and can support wildlife and environmental initiatives.

Xscape in Braehead, Glasgow

We also have a range of sport facilities across our cities such as the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena at Ratho, the Aonach Mor downhill mountain bike course, the snowdome in Braehead’s Xscape, ski slopes, ice rinks, curling rinks, bowling greens, football and rugby pitches, numerous gold courses for all abilities and sailing and watersports facilities around all our coasts and lochs.

The predicted impacts of climate change in Scotland provide a strong imperative for an urgent and effective response. It is a challenging task, but projects are being devised to create greener, healthier, safer places for people to live.

The cities of Scotland

Cities are our major points of economic activity and social interaction. Around the City of Glasgow, for example, there are those who commute to the city on a daily basis from towns, villages and countryside as far as 40 or 50 miles away.

The shopping capitals of Scotland are mainly Glasgow and Edinburgh and to a lesser extent Perth, Stirling, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen.

Most of our cities are fed by towns lying between city and country. Even quite small towns, whilst exporting daily commuters to larger cities, may attract their own daily ebb and flow of workers and shoppers from the surrounding countryside.

Which city people live in affects economic behaviours and social outcomes. The city’s built environment may encourage social interaction and a sense of security or reinforce isolation and insecurity. It also provides neighbours, and they may, for example, be supportive or they may generate damaging peer group effects for children and teenagers. There are not always answers for allurban living issues, but through regeneration, investment and demand, Scotland can provide what is needed for a ‘Better City, Better Life.’