Govan Green Hub
Rapid urbanisation breaks the balance between nature and the city. It leads to the occupation of green areas and thus causing reduction and fragmentation of green space. The connection between green space and the city is vital to improve the level of biodiversity and mental well-being in the city. In Glasgow, a city named Govan sits in between the green spaces of the north, Kelvingrove Park, and the south, Pollok Country Park, and can act as a connecting hub in a wider urban green corridor network, bring biodiversity to a predominantly industrial urban environment. However, it is disconnected, from Glasgow and from itself. Eastwest connections are blocked by railway infrastructure, and north-south connections are blighted by derelict industrial remnants of the last 100 years. The Clyde acts as a barrier separating Govan from Glasgow to the north, and the M8 motorway separates it from the south. The thesis investigates the potential of green space and urban realms to work together to form a connection for fragmented green spaces in Glasgow and the city’s network in Govan. A new green north-south connection tied to the city’s subway network, and an urban realm proposal to bridge the railway east-west, propose that Govan becomes central in providing Glasgow with relief from the obstacle and detritus of its industrial past and looks to a future that is green and biodiverse and a destination in the city.
