The population of Glasgow, Scotland has very poor health, compared to Scotland as a whole and the rest of the U.K., and even compared to other post-industrial cities with similar levels of deprivation and worklessness. This research maps and analyzes several health indicators to examine health inequities within Glasgow and explore the spatial correspondence between areas of poor health, high deprivation, and proximity to derelict land, much of which is contaminated from past industrial uses. People in high deprivation areas are significantly more likely to be hospitalized for respiratory disease and cancer; have low birth weight infants; and for men to have much lower life expectancy than those not living in the high deprivation areas, indicating substantial health inequities within Glasgow. They are also much more likely to live in close proximity to derelict land. A methodology is described for creating an index (PARDLI - Priority Areas for Re-use of Derelict Land Index), combining scores for these health, deprivation, and environmental variables. The Index is used to select and prioritize communities for resource allocation and planning efforts, and is transferrable to other locations. Potential strategies are outlined for re-using the derelict land for the communities’ public health benefit and neighborhood regeneration, including urban agriculture/community gardens, urban forestation, active and passive recreation areas, and linkage to existing open space networks and natural areas. This research is part of a larger project comparing Glasgow and New York City regarding the relationship between environmental health justice and aspects of the built environment.
Recommended Citation
Maantay, Juliana A.
(2013)
"The Collapse of Place: Derelict Land, Deprivation, and Health Inequality in Glasgow, Scotland,"
Cities and the Environment (CATE):
Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 10.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cate/vol6/iss1/10
