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[email protected] Modernizing Glasgow – Tower Blocks, Motorways, and New Towns 1940-2010 Currently 12,800 words plus abstract and captions Keywords: modernist architecture, modernist urbanism, “slum clearance”, Glasgow, Gorbals, East Kilbride, Cumbernauld, Castlemilk, new towns, tower blocks Abstract This article presents the history of Glasgow’s architectural and urban modernization, which resulted, among others, in the serial design of both modernist tower blocks and low-rise buildings, extensive ‘slum clearance’, motorway construction, and the establishment of new towns in the wider area. Drawing on select archival materials and a variety of published studies, the article draws a bigger picture of modern Glasgow, as it evolved as a result of comprehensive ideas, their partial implementation, and their subsequent modification over the course of seven decades. The article shows that within the umbrella approach “modernist urbanism” there were in fact a number of different strategies. They were related to different municipal and national institutions, whose rivalries had a significant impact on the built outcome, and eventually proved to be more disruptive than the values and visions that these institutions shared. It will also show that the modern aspirations for grandeur were intrinsically vulnerable to disruption, and were largely implemented in a makeshift and reactive manner,