A DAY to celebrate one of the most important figures in Scottish history is to be held on Saturday.
While the work of the revolutionary 19th and 20th century Scottish social thinker Patrick Geddes has influenced town planning all over the world and his ideas have great relevance today, he is not as well known as he should be in Scotland, according to Sam Gallacher, director of the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust.
“People think of Adam Smith and David Hume but they don’t tend to think about Geddes which is a pity because his philosophy and writings are very contemporary,” said Gallacher.
Born in Ballater in 1854, Geddes was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner who believed in improving people’s housing conditions and environment to give them greater wellbeing.
He saw that people were living in squalor in Edinburgh’s Old Town, with hundreds crammed into tenements, and set about improving the buildings by bringing in better light and ventilation while maintaining their distinctive character.
His ideas became influential, improving the lives of many, but the emphasis in the latter part of the 20th century became more concentrated on demolition with many historic and beautiful buildings torn down instead of being improved and preserved.
“He had this idea of conservative surgery which was to change elements of buildings to retain their historic fabric and character but make them more relevant and that is what is needed today,” said Gallacher.
He added that what happened in Glasgow was an iconic example of how Geddes’s philosophy became less influential.
“You don’t see there being an opportunity for conservative surgery in the Gorbals – you see it being flattened and rebuilt completely which is a very different approach,” Gallacher said.
Scotland could now benefit from reapplying many of Geddes’s principles, he believes.
“It is interesting how things shift but Geddes has a lot of relevance when we think of the agenda to embody carbon within buildings and see how they can be improved rather than demolish them,” said Gallacher.
Another of Geddes’s principles was collaboration and he gathered a group of like-minded young professionals who built a fund in order to become good landlords, taking on buildings in Edinburgh’s Old Town and giving a guarantee that a decent proportion of the rent would go back into maintenance and refurbishment of the buildings.
Gallacher said that much was lost as that sense of civic-minded responsibility became less influential.
“A lot of his philosophy involved elements of democracy and civic responsibility which we refer to as community,” he explained.
“Every project now claims it is benefitting the community but he worked out more sophisticated ways for that to come through. Instead, we have had a kind of triumph of a more commercial model which has brought lots of benefits but also a lot of negatives.”
Gallacher added that it would benefit Scotland if Geddes’s idea of wider participation in planning was rolled out.
“I know that planning authorities do their best but it is a very small group of people making very big decisions,” he said.
“I think we need to open that up and have a much more informative debate. That adds value to the communities and the people who become involved can see they are making a difference but if it is all done behind closed doors and private money is deciding what happens, you are not going to get that.
“I think a real democratisation of our planning service is definitely needed.”
In terms of design, Gallacher said it was important to recognise the local vernacular and approaches to architecture.
“Culross, for example, is very different to somewhere like Melrose or Cumbernauld so it is about thinking about how we evolve our urban spaces,” he said.
“Some of that may require interventions into what seemed like good ideas in the 20th century but have just ruined the sense of aesthetic. We need to appreciate that for all human beings, wherever you are and whatever your community you are in, your environment means something to your wellbeing and the quality of life you lead.”
The celebration of Patrick Geddes will take place at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on Saturday and will include workshops, screenings, talks and discussions.
