r/Glasgow Tools

Nah, I think you're way off here.

This problem you identify, about general dispondency around the centre. There is indeed a plan for tackling that: *repopulating the city centre*. The Avenues works are a very small part of gearing the city centre to be a place that's more hospitable and welcoming to people. People who might choose to visit for hospitality or leisure reasons, but also for people who might like to live there.

On a basic level though, you can't ignore the damage that online shopping has done and is doing to town and city centres. It's the root cause of Sauchiehall Streets woes. Up and down the UK, and all around the world. Glasgow isn't unique in this experience.

In many cities, Glasgow included, this collapse in the appeal of town centre retail has been compounded by construction of isolated out-of-town American style shopping malls. Which have also done their fair share of damage. Braehead, Silverburn, the Fort. Glasgow has at least three major examples of this, and umpteen retail parks of variable size to add to that list. All sucking footfall away from the city centre.

In the context of Sauchiehall Street, there were also two hugely impactful fires. All of this has shaped the situation the street's in now.

So how do you fix it?

You get more people living in the city centre. And public realm works are one small but important strand of this.