Urban Development and the Royal Fine Art Commissions

This book describes the origins of the Royal Fine Art Commissions for England, Wales and Scotland in the 1920s, and explores how their advice and monitoring have helped shape the urban landscape. Case studies of developments brought before the Scottish Commission over the past 30 years are highlighted, and these include: St James’s Square, Edinburgh; the St Leonard’s development, Edinburgh; St Enoch Station, Glasgow; the Kessock Bridge, Inverness; St Andrew’s Old Course Hotel; the SEC; and the Dundee Waterfront development. These case studies illustrate the problems faced by town planners. Other features of the book include radical proposals for wide-ranging but selective government action to improve our cities and outlines of the principal changes in architecture and the structure of cities since 1920.