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The Gorbals is a predominantly working-class area on the south-side bank of the river Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland.
The area is tradtionally home to large numbers of Catholic immigrants from Ireland as well as at one stage housing the vast majority of Scotland's Jewish population (although this group has subsequently abandonend the area).
The renowned Scottish socialist political figure John Maclean stood for election in the area in the 1918 General Election.
The Gorbals has long had a reputation as a gritty, rough area, and attempts to clear the slum tenements and replace them with new high-rise housing in the 1960s did little to improve this reputation. The poor design and low quality construction of the concrete 20-storey flats led to innumerable social and health problems in the area. The most infamous of these schemes, the Hutchesontown C flats designed by Basil Spence, were demolished in 1993 to make way for a new generation of housing development, benefiting the area enormously.
In 2004, Glasgow City Council has announced plans to demolish yet more of the unloved high-rise blocks. This process of gentrification follows on from the earlier demolition attempts. Crime rates have plummeted as property values have soared.
The well known Citizens Theatre is based in the area.
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