A 2023 project to research and publish:
A city hand book for the discerning citizen, traveller and reader.
The Glasgow user Manual – A peoples guid to the city
The Project, will be a one year long survey for setting up process and ideas for collecting information for a peoples guide to the city. A publication and website that will manage information and data for a long term portal to allow access to a wide range of city data, infrastructure and aspects in the public interest. This year long project will be the first phase in organising and creating the content for a publication with a work title of: The Glasgow user manual A peoples guide to the city.
The project will engage with local experts where possible and encourage people in the field of history, architecture, archeology, archiving, research and storytelling and interviewing skills. We will also work to open the conversation and to pique the imagination of local people by presenting a framework of ideas through, workshops in which to hang things of interest through historical re-enactments story telling, building things, making models, imagining and planning environments, walking, cycling, technology. And anything that will make the process enjoyable to people with different interests.
The field research for the project will cover the the villages of Glasgow. Such as Anderson, Bridgeton, Dalmarnock, Parkhead, Maryhill, Partick, Springburn, Shettleston, Tollcross the Calton and the outer villages of Castlemilk, Easterhouse, Drumchapel and beyond. Each area will be represented by an introduction and section on the website and in the eventual publication.
The first part of the project will be about establishing connections and support groups, institutions that can help or be useful in the development of the project such as libraries, writers groups, reminiscence groups, colleges, local history groups, universities, art school. Finding places the might want to share and collaborate.
We will work through social media, visits, information in local libraries, community halls and workshops to find in these areas city geographers and folk who might want to help to take on information gathering and organising material from their own district for the publication.
By the end of the year we will expect to have these things in place. A network of groups and individuals across the city that can help in building research for their own area, with a portal of information and activities and with the option of adding to the city guide. An operating main website and social media platform connecting areas and resources around the city, Accounts on the Internet Archive, Wikipedia, video and photography platforms. Connections to archival projects, and projects already involved in the same kind of interests. This work after the years research will go towards crating the publication which will be the second phase of he project and will be ongoing.