Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland with a population of 450,000 inhabitants in a city region of around 780,000. Edinburgh has a strong economy which is reflected in relatively high house prices. The city region requires 70,000 new houses by 2015 yet Edinburgh is surrounded by a tight greenbelt that limits its outward growth.

Edinburgh's pilot project focused on two areas of the city, leith and Granton which, when complete will provide 30,000 new homes intermixed with places of employment, shopping, culture and recreation.

The City of Edinburgh faces a two fold challenge. The first is to integrate this significant waterfront development within the overall regional context of the estuary on which Edinburgh sits (The Firth of Forth). The region contains a number of local government jurisdictions and many other stakeholder organisations. The second is to integrate the new developments along the waterfront within the existing development framework for the city as a whole. This is particularly challenging given the City's limited land ownership within the area, competing commercial interests and high land remediation costs.

As part of the Waterfront Communities Project, Edinburgh led on the theme 'Waterfront and the City Region'.