My local urban area is called Ayr. It is a coastal town located in the south-west of Scotland.

Physical Characteristics

Physically, Ayr consists of housing, green spaces, roads, shops and transportation, along with many other characteristics. It has much likeness to a small city. Housing covers a large portion of Ayr; including bungalows, detached and semi-detached housing, flats, council housing, student accommodation and retirement homes. Ayr is also a very historic town, with the County Buildings which consists of the administrative offices and the Sheriff Court dating back to the 1800’s, the Gaiety Theatre  built in 1902, and Burns Cottage; a famous historic landmark built in 1957. There is also a number of green spaces open for the public to enjoy. The Low Green is an open grassy area located next to the seaside and is used occasionally to hold evens such as the Air Show. Rozelle, Belleisle and the Old Racecourse are woodland and grassy areas made useful for dog walkers, family outings and school sports days. Grassy areas exist throughout Ayr, giving it a balance of both rural and urban areas. Roads are connected throughout Ayr, which makes it easy to travel from place to place by car, and also easily accessible with routes linking to other towns and cities.

Transport

There is much transport available in Ayr. The railway station is located in Ayr’s town centre, and has frequent services to Glasgow, Ediburgh, Girvan and Kilmarnock. The bus station is also located in the town centre, with eight local services available. With such accessible routes to cities, it can in turn cause environmental issues within Ayr. In summer, Ayr’s beach is a popular place, with hundreds arriving from outwith Ayr and polluting the beach and town with rubbish left behind.

Community Spaces

Opportunities for education also exists within Ayr. There are two nursery schools, fifteen primary schools, four secondary schools, one private school and one special needs school. These are spread throughout the town; ranging from near the town centre, by the seaside, and in areas such as Belmont and Alloway. There is also two colleges; Ayrshire College and SRUC, as well as UWS. This shows that Ayr has much opportunity for education and brings students from other areas of the world to study here. There are three public libraries; one of which is attached to Alloway Primary school.

Industry and Work

There is a wide range of industry and work within Ayr. In the past, this town’s economy was greatly improved by ships that were built on the River Ayr. It and the River Doon were used for fishing whitefish and salmon, which were exported from the Ayr Harbour. Today, the Ayr Harbour is still used as a commercial port; mainly for exporting coal. Following the opening of Ayr’s first department store, Hourstons, this town transformed into an area with much retail work. Marks & Spencer’s, the Kyle Centre, Debenhams and Ayr Central have also contributed towards making Ayr’s economy today very successful. Ayr is also rich in pubs, clubs, restaurants, as well as having a cinema and leisure centre.

Recreation Spaces

Many sports clubs, teams and centres exist in Ayr. The Ayr Racecourse is a well known racecourse used to host National Hunt and flat racing. Ayr’s senior footbal team, Ayr United F.C plays at Somerset Park, and Ayr’s rugby team Ayr RFC plays at Milbrae. There is also an ice rink used for figure skating teams and ice hockey, as well as Dam Park Stadium, an athletics facility used by running clubs, and for athletic events and sports days. Ayr’s leisure centre, the Citadel has a swimming pool and gym, as well as gym halls that are open to the public and used for kids sports clubs.

Peri-urban Space

Ayr is a peri-urban space; with much rural land that has been urbanised with roads, schools, shops and housing. The countryside area surrounding Ayr has links running through it connecting to major cities such as Glasgow.

Population Density 

In South Ayrshire, there are 92 people per square kilometre. This is the lowest number of people per square kilometre in all of Ayrshire.

Air Quality

Ayr’s pollution level sits at 3, which is quite low.