Like many cities around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the city of Glasgow hard, with profound health, economic and social impacts. As of September 2021, Glasgow registered the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths in Scotland (1633 in total and 257 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants), almost twice as many as in other big cities in Scotland, such as Edinburgh (852 in total, 161 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants). The impact on the economy has also been severe. Although Glasgow’s economy is expected to grow by 3.4% in 2021, following the 6.7% fall in 2020, it will remain below pre-crisis levels until at least next year. Similarly, although government support has been key to avoiding significant increases in unemployment, unemployment rates (for Scotland as a whole) remained above pre-crisis levels in July 2021 (4.3% vs 3.7% in February 2020).
Although the immediate focus of policy has been on mitigating the impacts of the crisis on health, the economy and society, the COVID-19 crisis has also accelerated and stimulated reflections on how to: rethink urban policies towards more sustainable production and consumption; make cities more liveable; strengthen the sense of community; access digital technology; and enhance collaboration across value chains.
A post-industrial city, Glasgow aims to grasp the opportunities presented by these reflections, and drive urban regeneration, by becoming the first circular city in Scotland, through innovative solutions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Combined with goals of social justice, a search for more resilient local economies and incentives for citizens to share and repair more, to limit resource waste, this will require supportive and enabling regulations, investments, new forms of collaboration and partnerships as well as a cultural shift towards a more resourceful and less wasteful society. The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) (Glasgow, November 2021) will seal the commitment of the city towards its transformation into a green city.
The OECD Programme on the Circular Economy in Cities and Regions supports national, regional and local governments through evidence-based analysis, multi-stakeholder dialogues, policy recommendations and customised action plans. The programme relies on a consortium of cities and countries engaged in peer-to-peer dialogues and knowledge-sharing activities, including Glasgow (United Kingdom), Granada (Spain), Groningen (Netherlands), Montreal (Canada), Tallinn (Estonia), Umeå (Sweden), Valladolid (Spain) and Ireland.
This report summarises the findings from a 20-month policy dialogue between the OECD and the city of Glasgow, to develop a vision for its transition to a circular economy. Glasgow’s circular path is primarily driven by collaboration between the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, through its Circular Glasgow initiative, Zero Waste Scotland and Glasgow City Council. Early findings of this report and the interviews carried out with more than 60 stakeholders from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors informed the 1st Circular Economy Route Map for Glasgow, launched in 2020.