ABSTRACT
Glasgow’s East End is a working-class neighbourhood where markers of social deprivation are a striking and persistent presence. The symbolic heart of this area is The Barras Market. Historically it has been a lively community meeting point, with independent shops, pubs, street food, and cultural venues. Spelled out in old lettering, small trinkets and all sorts of second-hand goods, a particular materiality still persists, though is today threatened by new art spaces and restaurants – first-phase indicators of a gentrification process that may yet lead to wholesale transformations in the area’s cultural identity. Over 2019, the authors have conducted multiple field visits to reflect on local realities and gather intimate memories, opening a geographical debate that involves sociological, urban and heritage aspects of the city’s life. This chapter considers a series of vexed questions, centring on the need for protecting the authenticity of the ‘real city’ and vestiges of ‘traditional Glasgow’ when this is seemingly at odds with progress. Ultimately, it is suggested that ‘anticipatory nostalgia’ – a sense of loss felt for sites that are not yet gone but seem set to disappear – can be a celebratory place-making attribute, embracing a strong sense of belonging that navigates the uncertain future.
