Findings Series 15 - 'Let Glasgow Flourish'

This paper describes the aims and purpose and approach taken in compiling the Let Glasgow Flourish report.

Let Glasgow Flourish was designed to provide a detailed overview of health and its determinants in Glasgow and the West of Scotland and to use this to increase understanding, provoke debate and stimulate action. 

What emerges from the wide range of data synthesised in the report is the scale and diversity of change experienced in Glasgow over the last 20-30 years. As late as the 1970s Glasgow was still an industrial and manufacturing city. The economic depression of that period destroyed many of these jobs and it took time for the city’s economy to recover.  During the recovery, the social class and employment profile of the city’s population changed significantly, resulting in Glasgow becoming a predominantly ‘middle class’ city with a strong emphasis on service industries.

The health and social trends that emerged from this transformation are captured in the report which shows that some trends have improved while others have deteriorated. 

The report warns that Glasgow’s current dependency on and investment in a highly consumer orientated economy make it vulnerable to oil shocks or other unforeseen economic or ecological forces and calls for debate and fresh thinking to confront the social, economic and health challenges in the city and surrounding region.