Urban Environment
My local urban environment is a town in West Dunbartonshire called Dumbarton. Dumbarton has a population of approximately 2,100 people and is steadily increasing. With the expansion in population, more housing estates are being built around the suburbs in forms of family homes. However houses within the town centre are in forms of tenaments and flats in a grid like form. These ageing houses were built this way in order to accommodate as many workers as possible during the 19th century as Dumbarton was the centre of shipbuilding, glassmaking and whisky production. The town centre still holds this historic feel despite being renovated several times and now having restaurants, pubs, shops and hair salons lining the streets. Other renovations which the council are implementing include the greenspaces within Dumbarton, primarily Levengrove park. It will receive a brand new swing park and community sport centre which will help to promote fitness within the community.
The main mode of transport used within Dumbarton is trains. There are three stations in Dumbarton and everything is within walking distance of these. Train lines are also available to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Balloch and Helenburgh. Dumbarton also has a bus service and is situated on the main A82 which links Glasgow to the West Highlands. However, there is one way system within the town centre in order to reduce car congestion and promote other forms of transport.
In Dumbarton there are two high schools, one of which is Catholic. There are also seven primary school and several nurseries. The council are currently working on plans to upgrade these schools with several of the schools receiveing brand new buildings and occasionally combining smaller schools or nurseries. Dumbarton also has a small community and library.
Dumbarton was famous in the 19th century for shipbuilding, glassmaking and whisky production but this has long since ceased. Nowadays Dumbarton is more of a tourist attraction with historical building such as Dumbarton castle and Overtoun house. It also has a vast number of retail parks with a great selection of shops, restaurant, pub etc
Dumbarton Stadium has been an integrated part of the Dumbarton community throughout history, it help to bring a sense of pride to the community as well as bringing other teams/tourists into Dumbarton. There is also a sport centre within Dumbarton which runs many clubs for children and adult in order to promote fitness and healthy well being within the community.
The population of density is relevantly low with only 566 people per square kilometre. To put this into perspective, cities for example Glasgow are 3,415 people per square kilometre, this allows you to see that Dumbarton has a relatively low population density.
The Air quality in Dumbarton is relatively low with a level of 2 out of 10 as reported by ‘http://www.scottishairquality.co.uk/’ This is unsurprising with the constant promotion of public transport and policies implemented in order to reduce car emissions.
