ABSTRACT
Since the announcement that Scotland was to hold its referendum on independence on 18 September 2014, there was a global focus on the apparent resurgence of democracy within this small nation. However, Scotland is a nation that is undergoing demographic change. Wester Hailes was an estate of social housing built on the south-west periphery of Edinburgh, Scotland, between 1968 and 1971. Among the long-term residents there is rich shared history used to build the community and to reflect on contemporary contexts and changes. The history of regeneration and community engagement by the state gives Scotland unique traditions within which state actors operate. This tradition developed alongside longer-term traditions of corporate and partnership working in local government in Scotland and the United Kingdom that have their antecedents in the 1960s. The changing context for Wester Hailes presents challenges to local governance that attempts to engage the local community.
