To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Scotland's "New Towns", this illustrated volume focuses upon the towns as they are now, in 1997. David Cowling's study sets out to revisit this epic "essay" - setting the present reality against the intentions of those who brought the towns into being. There are five "New Towns" in Scotland created under the provision of the New Towns Act of 1946, They are: East Kilbride, Glenroathes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine. Their evolution was secured by the Development Corporations - quangos appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland. The last of these, in Cumbernauld, Livingstone and Irvine, were wound up on 31 December 1996, and the remainder of the staff who were involved in their creation left at the end of March 1997. Through this work, Cowling explores the New Towns architecture, townscape and communities, observing their ability to sustain a quality of built environment over half a century of political, economic and social change. He addresses the question - "In a society which so often looks at the short term, can we learn from an act of policy which takes half a century to come to fruition?"