Posted by 
Students: Gareth Jackson, Delia Schulz, Lindsay Pratt, Mark Feeley, Fiona Murphy, Sarah Jane Laverick, Leroy Thompson, Ross Middleton.
The emerging sub-sea and renewable energy sectors have been identified as industries that could get the Clyde working again for generations to come. With large sites and riverside access that are required to make the huge wind turbines Govan presents a major chance to bring back large engineering employment to the banks of the Clyde, where the shipyards once operated.
The Govan project uses existing and traditional skills in the local workforce to develop the most modern of industries. meeting our future energy needs and potentially bringing a huge boost to employment and economy_ However it is much more than aboul the job-creation on the Clyde itself – there will be a lot more opportunities for businesses to build on. II is to be hoped, through partnerships and wilh the support of investors, the development can move forward at pace and place the river once again at !he centre of Govan’s economic life. With a large education campus the aim is to draw on specialist units from local universities and colleges, building upon an already world renowned research facility in sustainable energy. The campus will also provide local skills development and training opportunities to drive up local adult skills level and provide local learning opportunities to help residents access jobs. Throughout Govan’s history its prosperity has been intrinsically linked to the river.
The group has defined strategies for:
- Existing and proposed services.
- Redevelopment areas.
- Reinstating the historic street grid.
- Reconstructing the urban blocks.
- Building heritage preservation.
- Ecological connections.
- Upgrading streetscape.
- Developing the district centre.
From the Brief:
Scope:
The overall scope of the strategic phase is the generation of strategic programmes for the development and management of transformation in Govan within its immediate territorial context.
This module aims to assist students in developing realistic urban regeneration programmes for the transformation of Govan and the riverfront in the larger urban context. In particular, on the basis of the information gathered in the previous analytical phase, students will formulate imaginative but at the same time realistic scenarios for the transformation of the site and the ‘making of place and mediation of space’, recognising and taking into account often contradictory forces and interests.
Students will compare emerging ideas for change and transformation and combine them to form a holistic strategy for the study area that takes into account formal, social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainable urban development. Throughout this process, students are requested to relate their strategy to the current urban design and planning debate.
At the end of this phase, students will be able to answer the following five questions:
- What will Govan be in 20 years (vision)?
- What are the leading factors that will lead this transformation (main themes for change)?
- What specific activities and projects need to be implemented to guarantee the transformation you envisage, and who should be responsible for them (list of interventions, their link and delivery)?
- What is the spatial side of such changes? Can we draw it on paper?
- Is there anything we cannot – or we should not – draw that is nevertheless crucial, and in this case how can we ensure that our work on space supports, rather than inhibits, such self-organizing processes in the local community?
Objectives:
- To formulate a vision and directions for the improvement of Govan and its urban context, their likely impact on space and how they can be combined into a coherent and positive framework for its sustainable regeneration.
- To illustrate the best possible configuration of such framework through the design of hierarchies of centres, mobility, densities and open spaces”.