The Geography of Identity: Every Town Should Have a Corner

The Human Need to Dwell

One of the basic human requirements is the need to dwell and one of the central human acts is the act of inhabiting, of connecting ourselves, however temporarily, with a place on the planet which belongs to us and to which we belong. However, any sense of permanence appears more tenuous in our present world.

Climate and History as Foundations

Understanding architecture and by extension our built environment can be reduce to two absolutes – Climate and History. Our historic environment is based on our climate and our built response to it. In its widest sense climate has formed the topography and the landscape and it has shaped our history. Similarly, our attitude to culture is formed in our past. Our culture has evolved over history, and how we perceive it and respond to it forms us.

The Role of Scottish Civic Trust

Scottish Civic Trust is embedded in our Historic Environment. Its outreach and education underpin how we read our built environment and therefore understand the nature and the quality of our places. The best places are not simply 20th C creations but are an assemblage of architecture and built form over time where layers and palimpsests as well as erosion and patination, aid our feeling of wellbeing- like an old raincoat – how we enjoy our public space and find solace in our creations. Places in which we feel we belong.

Facing Change in the 21st Century

As we move into the second quarter of the 21st Century we must acknowledge change as the only constant. That change challenges all aspects of our society. It impinges on any sense of permanence or continuity. How we adapt and value all aspects of our culture requires embedding it in our economic system. We can no longer rely entirely on public funding to support our development. That requires us to question what we value most and how we can protect those values.

The Importance of Education

To embed a critical understanding and engagement with the built environment in our education system is a long-term strategy, the only really effective one. Not only because it can make impact across our society at all levels but also as issues affecting the built environment become more complex and impact on our, as yet unborn, grandchildren, so our ability to challenge accepted values becomes more important.

Critically Supporting the Historic Estate

We do need to be aware of the importance of our historic estate but to be critical about how this is developed and supported. We can engender a greater degree of engagement by association with broader cultural values, both artistic and scientific whilst recognising the contribution of the artisan as well as the artist. Working in partnership with all communities to preserve the uniqueness of their Place; promoting access to the historic environment and its stories to ensure its relevance in contemporary Scotland. Thriving, beautiful and well cared for places and buildings, which help to support and sustain a high quality of life.

Creating Meaningful Places

For any sustainable resilient long-term ambition on these investments of time and effort as well as funding, they must be embedded in their communities. However, it is also the degree to which any projects create meaningful places that are both useful and memorable, enabling a reattachment to the collective memory of their community, that part of a community that provides that solace-the corner that every town should have. The geography of identity.

An Invitation to Support

Without the support who value the collective memory of their communities achieving our mission will eventually be under threat. Advocacy for our values – those we nurture for our citizens will become more difficult. Thus, we invite our friends and supporters to formalise this engagement as Friends of the Scottish Civic Trust.