To find the world’s most extreme economies you generally have to travel far from the beaten track. There is one exception to this rule, a city closer to home that was described best by Sean Connery in The Bowler and the Bunnet, a 1967 documentary. In the opening scene the actor pulls up in his Aston Martin, hops onto a bus and turns to the camera, delivering a line that should be etched on the wall of every Whitehall department: “Glasgow: if you want extremes, this is your place.”
Glasgow is the Icarus city of the industrial era, a place that soared and then fell. Pick any arena — from science and engineering to literature and culture — and you will find something invented in this city.
To read more head to the article on the Sunday Times website.
More details and photos are available on the Extreme Economies website.