Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Opinion: Aberdeen’s nomination as most dismal city in Scotland

Post Thumbnail

In a week that Aberdeen was named as a nominee for the Plook on a Plinth award for most dismal town in Scotland, Professor David McClean, head of the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment at Robert Gordon University, considers the impact of the unwanted attention on the city.

It is in the nature of campaigns like ‘Carbuncle Awards’ or ‘Plook on a Plinth’ that they court controversy and elicit antagonistic and defensive behaviours in equal measure.

That, after all, is part of their purpose; a crude kind of naming and shaming that offers little that is constructive.

In fairness, however, provocations such as this are generally borne out of a desire for an increased quality in our living environment, and that is undeniably a laudable aspiration.

Nevertheless, it is unhelpful in Aberdeen where deep-seated acrimony can resurface with only the slightest encouragement, a situation that in itself threatens our future through its denial of the space for objective, measured dialogue.

What we do need to heed is the external perception of the city that this situation demonstrates. For perception, as the adage goes, is everything. Whether or not Aberdeen is the most dismal town in Scotland is a moot point. Personally, I believe this title would be undeserved, but I would equally wish to qualify that position.

I do understand the incredulity generated by the fabric of such a prosperous city suffering from impoverishment of investment and ideas, as exhibited lately.

The city has many fine buildings, streets, and squares, but we fail to celebrate the innate qualities of many, and all too frequently are forced to resort to the actions of our Victorian predecessors in order to demonstrate boldness of vision.

The point is this: if Aberdeen’s ambition is to be credible as an international hub and urban destination in the 21st century, then we must benchmark our city against the very best across the world.

That is the only reference point worth considering.

It follows, therefore, that what we do with our city must also be acknowledged further afield as the being of the highest quality.

Perception is everything. That is the learning from this ‘contest’, irrespective of its sensationalist tendencies.

Recently, there are signs of hope. Aberdeen city centre is in clear need of regeneration according to a holistic vision or framework that has cross-party political support. That is fundamental to its longevity and any hope of coherent implementation.

Successful regeneration takes time. After many years during which a plethora of ideas have been floated independent of any political or statutory processes, we must take great encouragement from the city’s recent competitive appointment of a design team charged with developing an integrated framework for city centre regeneration.

Indeed, it is incumbent on us all as citizens of Aberdeen to positively engage in the process of public consultation that allows everyone’s voice to be heard. That is our individual and collective responsibility.

We have yet to see what will emerge, but this is surely a positive step forward that has the potential to both galvanise the community, deliver, and signal to others more distant, that ours is a progressive and aspirational city after all.