Originally published in 1979, this volume begins with an historical summary of housing development in Scotland. Scottish urban housing has always followed a unique and distinctive pattern from the rest of the UK, resembling more closely the flatted developments of Continental Europe. The book compares the policies and programmes of development in EU countries and Scandinavia. The problems caused by over-emphasis on public-sector housing in Scotland since the First World War are discussed. A break-down of the work carried out by housing societies and associations reveals little national or local support in Scotland, unlike in European or Scandinavian countries where such association have formed a vital element in their housing policies.

Rural Scotland is a charged landscape, alive with history, soaked in myth and often rather sublime. For those of us living an urban existence, the countryside is a retreat for refuge and decompression, but it is also a place where infrastructures strain to reach and in which livings must be made. The countryside is resistant to easy explanation and is thus vulnerable to stereotyping. The nine building stories told in this book show how rural households and communities define themselves, and the role architecture plays in this. Illustrated with beautiful photography and drawings, the projects, from affordable housing on the islands to exquisite renovations of traditional agricultural stock, and all recognised by the Saltire Society's Housing Design Awards, are visually rich both in themselves and the contexts in which they sit.

The economic and social problems of modern Scotland are at the centre of current debate about regional economic growth, social improvement and environmental rehabilitation. In this book, as relevant today as when it was first published in 1975, Anthony Slaven argues that the extent and causes of these problems are frequently underestimated, thus making development policies less than fully effective. The major economic and social weaknesses of the west of Scotland are shown to be rooted in the regions former strengths. The author demonstrates how, although the region and its people have resisted change, a thriving and self reliant nineteenth-century economy , based on local resources and manpower, has given way in the present century to vanishing skills and products, unemployment and social deprivation. Since 1945 economic and social planning has helped to improve the situation, although many difficulties remain. Seen in the historical perspective provided by this revealing study, the present industrial problems of the west of Scotland, and their remedies, become clearer. Mr Slaven argues that the older industries deserve more help, for without this, he believes, the ineffectiveness of development policies is likely to be perpetuated. This book was first published in 1975.

Representing an interdisciplinary approach to the distinctive character and development of Scottish housing 1885-1985 this volume focuses on the tensions between national and local policies and the effects of these tensions on the physical stock of housing. Although the focus of research is on central Scotland, examples are drawn from throughout the country, with particular attention being paid to the little-studied and unique Scottish architectural form based on the tenement or high-rise dwelling with its distinctive social and behaviour characteristics. Also skilfully tackled are the remarkable features of overcrowding and heavy dependence on local authoriy housing.