What does our constant debate around whether an area is south side or west end say about Glasgow, asks Marissa MacWhirter

If I close my eyes and picture the south side, I see an organic spike tattoo wrapped around a fist clasping a tiny pastel paper coffee cup. A sea of Alpha Industries bomber jackets, independents with limited opening hours and a penchant for drama. I can smell the warm vegetal scent of fruit wafting down Victoria Road, hear the bicycles whizzing past.

Ask me to picture myself in the west end, and I’m in a crowd of students nudging along Byres Road, holding my breath against the damp, hot air blowing from the Subway station. Or I’m heaping spoonfuls of taramasalata onto charred sourdough at Crabshakk admiring the glossy-haired patrons. Or counting the cockapoos along the streets and in the park.

One of my favourite community pastimes is defining Glasgow’s two most hotly contested areas online: the west end and the south side (or is it the southside?). It’s easy to conjure the gist of each area. For me, the south side is the grungier, more eclectic cousin of the west end, which feels cleaner but also more sanitised. The south side is independent shops, a DIY ethos, multicultural, and intergenerational. The west end is curated, an aspirational brand of middle-class identity. Both are defined by walkability, their leafy, Victorian-era parks, their sandstone tenements, and the trendy places where you can fill your gullet or wet your whistle.

What happens next with parking control plans for Glasgow?

What happens next with parking control plans for Glasgow?

Manhattan's West Village Girl plague has already spread to Scotland

Manhattan's West Village Girl plague has already spread to Scotland

Gentrification or........

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