Writing the past into the fabric of the present: urban regeneration in Glasgow’s East End

Claims that community participation in public art offers a pathway to realising democratic social and economic change have generated considerable debate. Like many urban areas suffering post-industrial decline, East Glasgow in Scotland has been the focus of intensive regeneration activity. In some instances, new urban realm developments have been inscribed with text or visual images, which reference the city's social, industrial and cultural heritage. This chapter blends interviews and documentary analysis to question what this selective process means for the creation of myths, memories and meanings and how the knowledge of historic urban areas is conditioned by regeneration initiatives.