Regeneration in Glasgow will be influenced by several competing influences. In the short term
- some indicators suggest Glasgow has been slow to have been affected by the recession, but this influence has been accelerating;
- others show a difference between workplace and residence based patterns, and the focus also needs to be on the wider conurbation;
- future dialogue may be about "reducing negatives" rather than "maximising positives".
Longer-term trends are more positive outlook:
- the recession has not reversed the gains made since the mid-1990s in reducing deprivation and increasing employment;
- demographic trends suggest the city will retain if not increase its working-age population;
- Glasgow will delay its growth in the elderly population;
- neighbourhood change is improving many areas in and around the city centre/west end;
- infrastructural improvements will encourage centralisation within the conurbation.
The condition of the local economy still needs to be monitored: while Glasgow has been relatively successful in attracting inward investment, some aspects of the state of the local business base still require attention. Business start-ups and the micro-business sector (companies employing between 0 and 4 persons) still require support.
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