IN THE GORBALS
Sia,—'Why is it always the rat-infested houses that get the headlines?' This question was recently posed in the introduction to a programme on BBC TV con- cerning the new Gorbals: a programme designed to affirm people's belief, not only in Glar,.tow, but in all parts of the country, that the old Gorbals had all but disappeared and that slum clearance was no longer a serious problem.
Arriving for a short stay in Gorbals with the idea that this area had received a smart face-lift, one was appalled to find an entirely different situation. One saw row after row of three-storied houses con- sisting of apartments in which few, if any, of the decent amenities of living were maintained. 'Multiple occupancy' was the normal pattern. In one case, thirty-six people, representing six families, were living in a six-roomed flat, sharing a single WC (situated in a converted cupboard) and a single gas stove.
For these amenities they paid up to 45s. a week. Fear of intimidation prevents many people from applying for rent reduction to the existing tribunals. Broken window-panes and leaking roofs created situations congenial to dampness and its resultant catalogue of bronchial and TB cases. The abundance of cats and dogs pointed to the ever-present worry of rats. Despite all this, the people appeared happy psychologically a defence mechanism against their surroundings.
It is true that a start has been made on re- development in Hutchesontown-part-Gorbals (600 new houses since 1957). but do not let. us sing our praises too highly. For not only does this kind of programme tend to present a false image of pro- gress, it also serves to intensify what Professor Galbraith describes as 'the capacity which we share with all societies at all times for not seeing what we do not wish to see.' The worst part of Gorbals (Laurieston) is not due for redevelopment (according to the recent quinquennial review) until 1980. When it is remembered that slums are being created faster than they are being pulled down and that the rate of rebuilding will extend the problem into the next century. the complacency shown in this programme is 'scarcely supportable.
This country faces a whole series of allied social problems: 'socially undesirable' families; education; bad housing; unemployment. The Kennedy Adminis- tration in the US initiated a nation-wide campaign to eradicate poverty, and until the government of this country adopts similar measures the rat-infested homes and ever-growing slums deserve all the head- lines they can get.
19 Cawley Place, SW7
GRAHAM RICHES
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