The Scotsman

The inhabitants of Cumbernauld have nominated their own town for demolition, as part of a Channel 4 programme to find the piece of architecture in Britain that is most in need of instant erasure. The surprised programme-makers were expecting suggestions for ugly buildings to blow up, not whole towns. But then, they'd never been to Cumbernauld. Back in 2003, Cumbernauld was voted the second worst place to live in Britain. It followed up last year by grabbing the title of the town with the most dumped shopping trolleys littering the streets. Ned culture is partly the result of bad parenting. It is also the result of soulless, Stalinist architecture like Cumbernauld, and similar Scottish new towns and housing schemes. Yet, it was not always like this. Once upon a time, Cumbernauld was considered a landmark of good architecture. When it was first built, Cumbernauld even won the internationally prestigious Reynolds Award of the American Institute of Architects - the architectural equivalent of winning an Oscar - as "the most significant current contribution to the art and science of urban design in the western world".