Mulling over the disappearance of Paolozzi’s magnificent sculpture ‘The Wealth of Nations’ and linking it to the burach that is Picardy Place for pedestrians, cyclists, car drivers and bus drivers, I penned the piece below for local newsletter the Spurtle: “There was a time in the recent past when Edinburgh had more ambition. When building South Gyle, both shopping Centre and … [Read more...] about Reclaiming life and space at Picardy
cities
Hyperlocal: reinventing cities
Our daily constitutional takes us uphill. Late afternoon, defying a gloomy weather forecast the sun breaks through. We could take that as a good sign. Well, why not? If it wasn’t for the Covid notices in almost every shop window I might think I’d just woken out of a long, disturbed and disturbing sleep. Like Bobby Ewing I’ve stepped out of the shower to find the last four … [Read more...] about Hyperlocal: reinventing cities
Airbnb blitz is blighting cities
The three saddest words in the English language, thundered that cantankerous old brahmin, Gore Vidal, were 'Joyce Carol Oates.' Whatever the poor lady may have done to earn such vilification, her supposed infamy has since, I would earnestly suggest, been supplanted by three very different words which are not just sad, but also terrifying and duplicitous: 'The Airbnb … [Read more...] about Airbnb blitz is blighting cities
Winners and losers on #MoultriesHill Part 3
Story so far: By the end of Part Two, the brutalist Scottish Office has been abandoned. The fate of the St James Centre hangs in the air. Part Three: 2000 - 2020After a decade or so of going nowhere things began to move (slightly) around 2005. In October that year Coal Pension Properties (CPP) put the shopping centre on the market. Six months later it was … [Read more...] about Winners and losers on #MoultriesHill Part 3
New Brutalism in St James Square: #MoultriesHill Part 2
The story so far: In Part One, the vibrant mixed community of St James Square slowly declined under exploitative, ever-neglectful landlords.Part Two: 1955-2000The first stirrings of change came from Her Majesty’s Government.In the mid 1950s, HMG, in the form of the Ministry of Public Building & Works, was looking for somewhere to house Scotland’s fast-growing, … [Read more...] about New Brutalism in St James Square: #MoultriesHill Part 2