Streets of Edinburgh

Updated July 2024 Where and what is Edinburgh's New Town? Actually it is more than a single new town, but several developments north of the Old Town, starting in the late 18th-century, continuing into the 19th-century. Illustrated verses describe these developments, releasing built-up tension experienced by residents living in cramped confined old Edinburgh. Expansion began with James Craig's rectangular grid, a design harmonizing with the features of the land. Wide streets, a square at each end, offered comfortable, spacious homes with gardens. Popular and successful, extensions soon followed, to north, west and east, each making good use of the landscape. And preserving green spaces, lungs for the growing city. A New Town, yes, but what is New becomes Old. To remain New it must Renew, honouring its past whilst welcoming change. The renewal must honour and embrace nature, making space for birds, animals and insects, for greenery, flowers and trees. A companion volume, Volume I, The Royal Mile, describes that historic street. A further companion volume, Volume II, The Old Town, describes the Old Town, its closes and wynds and southern valley. Each is self-contained, able to be read and enjoyed on its own.