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(���inpichcn,���c �i�i_hh�mrh�a�J Studicc Chai;icicriiin� Dcclinc <br />the overcrowded tenements with the high-rise blocks; and cons[ruction of large, <br />peripheral housing estates on [he edges of the city (5cottish Development Agency (SDA) <br />1987, p. 60). <br />The SDA summarised the dynamics of the peripheral estate decline in Glasgow <br />(ibid.). First, there was rapid construction of the estates in the 1950s and 1960s to house <br />people displaced by inner city redevelopment. The provision of shopping, Ieisure, and <br />education facilities was not a priority. The es[ates soon became unpopular, as [hey were <br />often used to house problem tenants that were likely to be poor, unskilled and anti-social. <br />This started a spiral of decline. High turnover rates, a lack of community cohesion and a <br />very poor external image made the estates even more unpopular. Housing design <br />problems, a mismatch between house and family size, inadequate management and <br />maintenance, and poverty of the residents isolated these estates from the wider socio- <br />economic system. Problems on the estates were made worse by an overall oversupply of <br />council housing, resulting from dectining population in Glasgow. Low levels of <br />investment in the peripheral areas during the 1970s and early 1980s that reflected the <br />national policy agenda with an emphasis placed on the inner cities, contributed to the <br />peripheral estate decay (ibid.). <br />Carley (]990) reports on four peripheral housing estates that were constructed at <br />Drumchapel, Pollok, CasUemilk and Easterhouse. These estates were built quickly to <br />house people from the city centre, but very soon reliable tenants started transferring out <br />again and by the late sixties the estates were difficult to let. The combination of poor <br />design, geographical isolation and severe economic and social deprivation characterize <br />the curcent condition of the estates (ibid.). <br />By the 1970s the estates had high levels of the population who were unemployed <br />and dependent upon state benefits; a large proportion of single parent families and young <br />singles; an unbalanced social mix, with few people in professional and non-manual <br />groups and high proportions of unskilled workers; poor environmental quality caused by <br />bad housing design and estate layout a lack of social, recreational and leisure facilities; <br />and a poor image, both wiCh tenanCS and the outside world (SDA 1987, p.l). <br />Some common features of these areas in 1980s included: male unemployment in <br />some neighbourhoods was as high as 40 per cent, and much higher levels of youth <br />unemployment in some areas; high overcrowding, seven times the British national <br />average; on some estates infant moRality was almost five times the national rate; and <br />there was serious shortage of social and community facilities (Carley 1990). <br />Power and Mumford (1999) examined housing demand in British inner-city areas. <br />The main focus of the study was on NewcasUe and Manches[er, two cities experiencing <br />long-run decline and concentrated multiple deprivation, which is far more severe in the <br />inner neighbourhoods. <br />Between 1971 and 1996, Manchester lost 22 per cent and NewcasUe 16 per cent <br />of its population. Inner-city areas lost more people and jobs than outer areas, and male <br />jobs did much worse tha� female (ibid.). <br />.-. <br />13 <br />