The Glasgow Effect: A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint

by Ellie Harrison

Ellie Harrison's The Glasgow Effect art project funded by Creative Scotland to the tune of £15k, caused a social media shitstorm at the start of 2016: 'I will not travel beyond Glasgow's city limits, or use any vehicles other than my bike, for a whole calendar year.' This simple proposition - to attempt to live 'a low-carbon lifestyle of the future' - put forward by an English artist living in post-industrial Glasgow, cut to the heart of the unequal world we have created. A world in which some live transient and disconnected existences within a global 'knowledge economy' racking up huge carbon footprints as they chase work around the world, whilst others, trapped in a cycle of poverty caused by deindustrialisation and the lack of local opportunities, cannot even afford the bus fare into town. We're all equally miserable. Isn't it time we re-thought the way we live our lives?

In this, her first book, Harrison traces on her own life's trajectory to examine the relationship between literal and social mobility, between class and carbon footprint. From the personal to the political, she uses experiences gained in Glasgow in 2016 and beyond, together with the ideas of Patrick Geddes - who coined the phrase 'Think Global, Act Local' in 1915, William Morris - the 19th century's famous radical artist-socialist, and the Fearless Cities movement of today, to put forward her own vision for the sustainable city of the future, in which we can all live happy, healthy and creative lives. 'I was inspired by Darren McGarvey's book Poverty Safari, which had, in turn, been inspired by The Glasgow Effect.

A book demands patience to allow a person's stories and ideas to unfold slowly over time, offering a more complete picture of how their personal history and lived experience have shaped their politics; their thinking and action in the world. From very different backgrounds, Darren and I have arrived at similar critiques of the city, the society and the economic system within which we live.' - ELLIE HARRISON

'In early 2016 I found myself at the head of an angry mob. I was so consumed by my own anger and moral certainty, it had blinded me to the fact that Ellie Harrison, in all her middle-class glory, was not an enemy, but an ally in the war I'd been fighting all my life.' from Poverty Safary.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Scotland, Class, Sociology, Economics, Art

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2019

About the author

Ellie Harrison was born in the London borough of Ealing in 1979. She moved north to study Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University in 1998. In 2008 she continued northwards to do a Masters at Glasgow School of Art and has been living in Glasgow ever since. She has described herself as an artist and activist, and as ‘a political refugee escaped from the Tory strongholds of Southern England’.

In 2009 she founded Bring Back British Rail, the national campaign for the public ownership of our railways. As a result of thinking globally and acting locally during The Glasgow Effect in 2016, she is now involved in several local projects and campaigns aimed at making Glasgow a more equal, sustainable and connected city, including the Get Glasgow Moving public transport campaign, Car-free Glasgow and the Glasgow Community Energy co-operative.

Reviews

[Katty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has some interesting, valid points but these are over shadowed by the writers self absorbed ramblings. She has clearly done a great amount of reading but uses this book as an opportunity to show off how many philosophers names she knows.
I found this book offensive to Glaswegians and only reflects a very privileged, white English artists life in the city. At 384 pages I expected it to go into more depth about the Glasgow Effect. Instead it focused on her, her feelings and her controversial project. She is extremely self absorbed and while I feel she is trying to make valid points about living sustainably, that message is lost and underdeveloped.

Spoiler alert: it's not actually about the Glasgow Effect.

[Allan McCabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quite bizarre book.

Following the social media furore, I was really looking forward to reading this to find out how the author got on during her year of confinement to Glasgow. But I was left feeling short changed.

There's no doubt Harrison is trying to fight the good fight and she makes some very valid points about the state of our society and more specifically our transport system. But, there's very little focus on the Glasgow Effect art project itself, which is the main reason I wanted to read the book. Harrison instead recycles valid points made elsewhere by other writers about neoliberalism and our transport system.

The author chooses not to mention the projects she's been working on throughout the Glasgow Effect as she wouldn't want to cause them reputational damage. Fair enough. But this does leave the reader feeling a little short changed.

Harrison's, at times, disregard of valid criticism and bizarre anecdotes of nameless politicians and strangers who praise her in the street add little to the book and come across as a little self-indulgent. And the constant misuse of speech-marks throughout starts to grate after while.

The salient points Harrison makes are great. But many of them won't be new or groundbreaking to anyone with an interest in the environment or politics. Darren McGarvey's Poverty Safari would be a far better starting point for anyone who hasn't read either book.

[Keen Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In our neoliberal age of privatisation, it’s time and education that have become the real luxuries.”

I have to say Harrison makes for excellent company. The huge part she played in movements such as the rail renationalisation move with the Bring Back British Rail campaign and raising awareness and generating such unforeseen controversy with her work, which has resulted in this book.

“Thatcher’s government deregulated the buses in 1986-a brutal act of vandalism which the Scottish Government, in its 20 years of power over our transport network, has done absolutely nothing to address.”

The chapter which included the online comments, aside from the darker comments, was highly entertaining and really captured what she was up against from the start. She is really good on the raging hypocrisy of academia and other cosy, middle class sinecures and the art washing of multi-billion corporations, politically compromised funding, which almost always comes with insidious ts and cs. She quotes so many great and memorable sources, Jimmy Reid, Cathy McCormack, Carol Craig and the likes of Tim Kasser’s extrinsic v intrinsic values, “The more we prioritise ‘extrinsic’ values, the ‘less happiness and life satisfaction and ‘fewer pleasant emotions’”

“The more transient and disconnected our lives become, the less we understand the places where we live and work, the less likely we are to fight to make them better, or even know where to start.”

Citing the likes of the Bruce Report, which among other shocking moves, saw the building of a six lane motorway, right through the heart of the city centre, and the brain drain, not just with people immigrating abroad, but people moving out to the many New Towns as part of Patrick Abercrombie’s Clyde Valley Regional Plan. She talks about the dislocation and isolation this led to, with it being a case of out of sight, out of mind, these fragmented families and communities made them less able to form a united force or collective voice.

Add to this the impact the cuts to the arts made by the SNP and look what over half a century of Labour ruling has done to the city of Glasgow and of course the Beeching cuts had on Glasgow you effectively had the city shifting away from unionised, cheap public transport to more expensive and more wasteful privatisation of mobility, partly due to lobbying by the oil industry.

Harrison is also really strong on highlighting the hypocrisy of Glasgow’s Labour establishment, which for over half a century, seemed to be best at enriching itself. Prioritising inner city gentrification and commercial development over addressing the many, deep seated issues and problems which were hammering the most needy and vulnerable within the wider city limits. They are very good at the gimmicky taglines, but not so strong on tackling the real life problems.

“Following devolution in 1999, Scotland has become ‘the most centralised system of government of any country in Europe’. Rather than urgently addressing the damage done by John Major in the 90s (neither his ‘gerrymandering’ of local government, nor his privatisation of our railways), the Scottish Government, in its 20 years in existence, has continued to strip away Glasgow’s local/regional power.”

“Glasgow’s poor health is partly caused by the benefits system controlled by Westminster, but there’s lots that the Scottish Government could and should be doing to reduce inequality now. It has power over education, the environment, health, housing, civil and criminal justice and transport. With additional powers over taxes and welfare and even the public ownership of Scotland’s railways…granted in the Scotland Act 2016. Why are these powers not being put to good use? Scotland has had power over its bus network since devolution in 1999. Yet it has done absolutely nothing to reregulate the buses and undo the damage caused by Thatcherism.”

One criticism I would level at Harrison is that at times she seems a tad self-pitying and all too willing to scapegoat Glasgow with some issues or problems which are not necessarily the fault of the city, such as her personal problems with relationships etc, it is all too tempting and easier to blame something as big and abstract as “the city” instead of meaningfully and painfully examining what other issues which may have contributed to these problems within yourself?...

I really enjoy books which strongly challenge the ideas, certainties or beliefs you hold and this certainly did that for me. I had no idea how ill-informed I was regarding the state of Glasgow’s transport system and many of the underlying political issues, but that’s what good books can do, expose your ignorance or knowledge gaps and make you just that little bit more aware. I also discovered a lovely list of names and books to chase up too, which is always a bonus.

So well done Ellie Harrison, take a bow you have produced a bold, vital and thoroughly researched piece of work and this should be stocked in every library, book shop and place of learning throughout the length and breadth of Scotland.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most informative and relevant books I've read! Pulling together issues of climate breakdown, community resilience, local activism, state welfare, capitalism, class, education, art and much more - all things I'm already passionate about but hadn't quite considered the relationship between in great depth.

I picked us this book in a charity shop as a dimly remembered the online outcry in 2016 and I was interested to hear Harrison's side of the story. I did not expect to read a manifesto for sustainable, local communities and Universal Luxuries Services but I'm happy that I did.

I've volunteered in my local community for over 7 years and reading this has helped me clarify why it has always been important to me, and how my time could be best used going forward, especially now that I've graduated from university.

(Also, very bemusing to read in 2020 when most of us have been contained to our locality since lockdown)

[William Connelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst some of the ideas are definitely challenging - the concepts of the value of use, sustainability and transformation - and her outsider view of Glasgow and Scotland (namely its incestuous establishment of academia, media and politics jerking its each other off; also her description of art as a commodity and Arts Council funded careers) is insightful, there were enough teeth-grindingly naive ideas - everyone should have a job that satisfies them which begs the question of who cleans the toilets or empties the bins at 5am whilst ‘living the dream’ and applauding a Chinese system of community doctors who cease to get paid when a patient falls ill - to reduce this book to three stars.

[Helen Varley · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a most excellent book for anyone who is interested in public transport, local democracy, and seriously addressing the climate emergency and socio-economic inequality in the world. it is specifically focussed on glasgow & the UK context however the central ideas are applicable across the western world and the reading list is very broad (i was disappointed to find no bibliography at the end, but the notes are extensive).

ellie analyses her own personal experiences to better understand the world and its injustices. As a self-confessed privileged person, she bravely steps out of her comfort zone, acknowledges her naiveties and limitations, navigates complex social situations, reads shitloads and critically dissects and reconnects all of it. she breathes new life into slogans such as "think global, act local" and "small is beautiful", at the same time as asking such obvious questions as, why do cities spend millions on branding exercises while ignoring obvious solutions to social problems? she finds answers to these questions by drawing vital connections between problems that have been isolated and individualised, clearly placing the blame on decades of neoliberal policies of privatisation, the GDP system of valuation, and profit before people. happily, throughout the book she proposes imaginative, truly democratic and empowering solutions to reducing inequalities and moving towards happier, healthier sustainable lives for everyone.

[Zoe Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Left me challenging my lifestyle and my views on class & cultural participation. Having resisted many of the "middle class" trends that actually benefit my life, I could relate to a lot of what she was talking about. I definitely would have scoffed at the project initially, but after reading this its changed my perspective entirely. Would recommend to anyone, especially those with a connection to scotland/Glasgow/public transport.

[Josephpeter Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining book which held my attention throughout. I shared the writers angst and concern for Glasgow and her peoples future.
Reading the book in the early days of this pandemic lockdown ,isolated and cut off from the social scene her feeling of being trapped rang true.
The most astounding ideas and conclusions were solidly delivered towards the end and filled me with hope. Even after the mistakes of the recent past changes can be made to improve Glasgow and the environment.

[Harry Bartlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it's an interesting read that considers some very valid social and economic problems in and around the city of glasgow. Harrison provides a well thought out description of the problems present in and around Glasgow, primarily transport, identity, and the car dominated city layout.

However, I do think her proposed solutions largely come from an extremely optimistic, if not unrealistic, standpoint. She assumes all people of the world are as motivated as herself to 'do good' for the community around them at expense of their own discomfort. Specifically that in the "low-carbon future lifestyle" all work should be driven by enjoyment and fulfillment, and there is no need for an incentive such as money. I think this is largely impossible when considering the nature of jobs required in order to upkeep a city and society.

Finally, I think her emphasis on education in the arts giving meaning to life and disregarding that all other forms of education may also provide an equally fulfilling lifestyle is a niave thought process and indicates a lack of personal interest in these other areas biasing her work.

[Øyvind · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to learn about the public health phenomenon known as the Glasgow Effect, you can read pages 219 to 230 or so of this 360-page book.

Much of the rest is not so much about that as it is about the author's conceptual art project of the same name - which consisted in being paid £15,000 to do nothing/anything for one year on the condition that she did not leave the Greater Glasgow area (where she had already been living for years) during that time - and about her political utopianism, which is not specific to Glasgow. I realised this too late, and imagine that at least a few others will have purchased the book without knowing.

The author seems anxious to justify herself by constantly referring to her art installations and activism/Alinskyist community organising. I wish she had not felt the need to do that. Much of the book also reads like a personal diary, which I simply did not find very interesting.

I rarely bother to read or skim through a book that I do not like, but I did this time. Did I get anything out of it? I learned that Glasgow's problems were partly caused by modernist town planners (such as Robert Bruce and Patrick Abercrombie) under a socialist Labour government after World War II. The centralisation of local government in Scotland is perhaps another part of the puzzle (the powers of 871 civil parishes were transferred to 32 councils).

The author, on her part, is much more interested in blaming 'neoliberalism' (something like the fact that not everything is owned by the state anymore). Her solution is 'taxes, taxes, taxes' or taking money from mustache-twirling capitalists. This money will then be used to give everyone free houses (which they would preferably not own), energy, food, transportation, mobile phones and internet. She also thinks that socialist clubs and socialist schools in the service of 'a New Society' (p. 356) would help.

To be fair, Harrison makes a point about public transport links that I actually agree with. The damage of bad urban development having been done, the possibility of extending the Subway to the poorest parts of Glasgow should be explored. However, I lived in Oslo in Norway and it is a stretch to say that 'they have banned parking in their city centre altogether' (p. 337). A few other good insights are quoted below.

Self-awareness: 'Middle class people have the luxury of the time and education to ask questions about the world we live in and to write self-indulgent books aimed at providing the solutions.' (p. 106)

'The paradox of Glasgow's oppressive culture of "putting folk down" was that if it was initially intended to ensure people didn't get "above their stations" and, therefore, leave their communities behind, it often had the opposite effect: of forcing them away.' (p. 180)

Regarding Brexit: 'The people voted against globalisation and what are they being offered instead? Globalisation on steroids.' (p. 200)

'Creating something takes time and effort and often provides "delayed gratification" (joy or "eudaimonic" well-being) rather than a quick hit. Whereas destroying something is always the easy option.' (p. 202)

'[G]aining weight is caused by only one thing: consuming more energy than you use. You're either eating too much or not exercising enough (and usually it's a combination of the two).' (p. 217)

Score one for Hayek: 'Economist John Maynard Keynes [...] is also partly responsible for creating and perpetuating the (self-)destructive consumption-driven economy which we've had since the Second World War.' (p. 248)

'Both Carol Craig and Cathy McCormack argue that most poverty in Glasgow is "more psychological and spiritual than material".' (p. 250)

Ironic: 'Following devolution in 1999, Scotland has become "the most centralised system of government of any country in Europe" [and this is bad].' (p. 302)

[my.bookshelf.87 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellie Harrison was awarded a grant of £15000 in 2016 to conduct an experiment whereby she would live within the confines of Glasgow city for a year, using only her own two feet as transportation. This experiment had the aim of investigating 'The Glasgow Effect' and its causes. (A term used to describe Glasgow's mysteriously lower than average quality of public health and overall lower than average lifespan).

In this period, Ellie was restricted to only seeing family and friends if they visited her, or her cycling/walking to meet them if it was within a reasonable distance. Job prospects and other aspects of life were affected, which mirrored the real life situation of residents who are restricted by poor transport links etc. She also talks about 'food and culture deserts'; areas where supermarkets and places like community centres are few and far between - further exacerbating the divide between people.

'Some people worry about the end of the world, whilst others worry about the end of the month.' (A quote from French president Emmanuel Macron). Ellie received a lot of criticism and anger directed towards her by carrying out this project, especially as she was an outsider and middle class.

In 1945, thousands of Glaswegian citizens were moved to peripheral housing estates, into accommodation which was built cheaply and therefore of a sub-par quality. This was found to be a big cause of The Glasgow Effect.

We are on the cusp of another massive deindustrialisation of our economy, which can only make things worse. With the introduction of AI especially, many jobs will be at risk of obseletion.

Overall, I found the concept of the experiment to be an interesting one. However, it was a hefty book and mostly read like an extended essay. I would have liked to havd read more about the day to day goings-on of the year.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

[Hannah Mahr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book... if you were around me during the time that I was reading it, you'll understand the tone of my review.

It is often said that a true testament of art (literature, series, film, etc.) is if it lingers in your mind after consumption. That is certainly true for me with The Glasgow Effect.

Harrison encourages discussion around the matters of public transportation, class and sustainability, among other topics, through the lens of a year-long project in which she is not allowed to leave the city of Glasgow - and must survive only on the city's infrastructure and transit.

I do think this book left me informed and challenged my viewpoints, but at times, could be a little unrealistic. Mainly Harrison's 'solutions' for many of the proposed challenges. It also focused a lot more on Harrison's life and career as an artist than the description would lead you to believe - which I found frustrating when I wanted to learn about the public/privatization of UK rail and then was suddenly learning about an art project she made when she was 20. Sort of bizarre, but I imagine this felt like a culmination of her life story.

Anyways, if you read this (you can borrow it from me since I have a physical copy), I would be very interested in having a discussion. I am anything but indifferent about it.

[✨arrianne✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A challenging book that I really enjoyed, even if I didn’t agree with all of it. Suffers in some places from her trying to comment on things she doesn’t know enough about (healthcare, science education) but the general themes and ideas are great. Could have done with a better proofreader in places & I actually winced when she said that social division in Glasgow was worse than South African apartheid because it was ‘white on white’. I also feel like she could try harder to fit in if she finds the place so unwelcoming?

That said, her ideas about sustainability, public transport and public ownership of services, and societal improvements generally are v interesting.

I particularly recognised the “Scotland is a brilliant socialist utopia” chat which is often called upon by Indy supporters, but which isn’t borne out by surveying people’s actual political opinions and views on things like the death penalty and if we were so great, why do people in one bit of Glasgow die decades younger than in the posh bits of the city?

Given the chips on the front, as you might imagine, there’s a fair bit of obesity chat.

[Kirsty Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I remembered the furore surrounding Harrison's Glasgow Effect project - funded by Creative Scotland (who gave her £15k), this 'durational performance' centred on a simple proposition that Harrison would refuse to travel beyond Glasgow's city limits, or use any vehicles except her bike, for a year. I didn't hate the project when it was announced and could see the merit in what Harrison was trying to do. What I wanted from this book was a deeper understanding of what led to the project and how it's unravelling via social media in the days, weeks and months after it was announced affected its creator. The book does give insight on both counts but what got in the way of that story was that the book felt like it was quite poorly edited.

Harrison is vitriolic about neoliberalism but her arguments can become quite rambling. It feels like the book hasn't been thought out clearly and that chapters go round in circles. I was touched by the way Harrison wrote about the death of her mother and the impact it had on her but I came away from the book no more convinced of anything.

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I've lived in Glasgow, married to a Glasgwegian, two daughters went to Glasgow uni and a third now lives there. I'm invested in the city and after decades living in the countryside it's one of the few cities I would consider living in again. But I felt a bit meh at the end.

I'm not sure what the conclusion of the book is. Ellie Harrison makes a lot of valid points about the appalling state of our public transport system and about society in general but I would question the sub title "A Tale of Class, Capitalism & Carbon Footprint" It's a tale of Ellie Harrison. It's not even a tale of The Glasgow Effect as she declines to mention any of the projects on which she worked during her year confined within the boundaries of Glasgow. Suddenly it was the end of the book and I didn't know what she actually was trying to tell me or what she had learned.

Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey was a more well written and edited book.

[Cacey Cottrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book, not thinking I would enjoy it. Based on the back cover blurb, it just seemed like it would be ‘that white woman’s’ manifesto - you know the one, who espouses progressive values but is so out of touch with reality, it’s comical. But I was actually pleasantly surprised in her self-awareness, her accountability in the book and actually how much she researched and educated herself when recognizing a weakness/deficit. For a book whose premise was about an art project, it actually talked less about art than I was expecting, but the subject matter and solutions were just as thrilling and interesting. I learned a lot about Glasgow with her, understood her struggles as someone also in the knowledge economy who travels because of and for work and as an ‘outsider’ to a town/country I’m not sure how or if I want to be a part of. Would definitely recommend like minded others to read it, plus enjoy the long reading list I came out of this book with! 10/10

[David Robson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall - enjoyed the book but the narrative meandered after the halfway point, losing the punch which I enjoyed it for.

Book starts off great with a recount of past experiences, the emergence of Neoliberalism, its effects, and a look at the history of Glasgow. Very eye-opening and an interesting take on the state of the world.

As we go further into the actual experiment Ellie does - whilst interesting - the narrative structure begins to stumble a little bit. It becomes very "and then I did this, and I did that." At times, it feels like a sequence of events as opposed to a thought-through narrative. I guess as we need detail on what happened in the 12-month project, it might be difficult to avoid this. But it takes the weight out of the momentum the book builds in the first half.

Still worth a read.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I missed the furore surrounding this, and I'm so glad I did because it seems as though there were a lot of people who let their minds be made up by half-baked headlines and sheepthink. What I discovered in Ellie's fantastic book was a thoughtful and curious exploration of many issues. The way she delves into them all quietly reveals that so much of society's ills are interconnected. Fantastic research and time went into every chapter, which is neatly balanced on the page with Ellie's own mindful, first-person experiences. Some of the quotes and ideas left my mind wandering in many other directions, so this felt like a slow read in many ways, but one that was constantly rewarding.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enthusiastic.

[Ryan Catterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting read, taught me a lot about the history of my city and how fucked over it has been. Also big up Ellie Harrison for still fighting to fix the bloody buses after all this time.

[Mairi Byatt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly it infuriated me a lot!
Glasgow is a place I love and many of my family lived there!
Definitely not recommended!

[Barra O'D]

An awesome book

[Rebekah Reay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting and engaging. Very passionately written with clear solutions to the problems we face in Glasgow. Ellie Harrison for Councillor/Mayor/First Minister.

[Caitlin Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm unsure how to rate this book - it might take time to digest.

On the one hand - lots of interesting material, references to follow up on, and ideas sparked. I wish I had been at the public events in Glasgow. She describes her journey and the controversy very well.

On the other - it's too long, feels a bit incoherent, and crucially, she never does answer the question what did you *do* all year?
She does say that she deliberately isn't telling us about all the campaigns and work she did, as it's all ongoing and she doesn't want to risk tarnishing it with her controversial brand. That feels like a cop out.

Stylistically - this is easy to read and doesn't feel too academic. But her 'overuse' of 'quote marks' frustrated me. She also seems to rely heavily on other books - in parts, this feels like Ellie's reading journal or student dissertation - she has done a lot of learning, but (it seems), recently, and in fields which are new to her.

It all feels a bit naive but also full of potential- I'd love to see a second edition in 5 years time!

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was enthralled by the topic of this book and Ellie Harrison does a great job of encapsulating the Scottish outlook on the arts & what it is to be a working class Scot. I learned things i didn’t know and deepened my knowledge into why post-industrial urban landscapes may be shadowed with lower life expectancy, poor health, higher mortality, low income, and higher rates of homelessness among other things. I only gave 4 stars due to the fact that i felt the book didn’t truly speed up until half way at least. the groundwork was informative but it wasn’t until we got into the nitty-gritty of glasgow’s inequalities that we made real stride in the book. i look forward to reading more novels on the topic and see what is said about such issues from different perspectives.