Editing Edinburgh (section)

===19th and 20th centuries===
[[File:Aerial View of Edinburgh, by Alfred Buckham, from about 1920.jpg|alt=An aerial photo of Edinburgh with an aeroplane visible|thumb|left|175px|Edinburgh, c. 1920]]

Despite an enduring myth to the contrary,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/inspiring-capital-deconstructing-myths-and-reconstructing-urban-e |title=Inspiring Capital? Deconstructing myths and reconstructing urban environments, Edinburgh, 1860–2010 |journal=Research Output |year=2013 |publisher=Edinburgh University |doi=10.1017/S0963926813000448 |access-date=23 July 2021|last1=Madgin |first1=Rebecca |last2=Rodger |first2=Richard |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=507–529 |s2cid=145373686 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Edinburgh became an industrial centre<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Edinburgh-Scotland/The-modern-city |title=The modern city |encyclopedia=Edinburgh |publisher=Britannica |access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref> with its traditional industries of printing, brewing and distilling continuing to grow in the 19th century and joined by new industries such as [[Hunter Boot Ltd|rubber works]], [[Engineering|engineering works]] and others. By 1821, Edinburgh had been overtaken by [[Glasgow]] as Scotland's largest city.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pryde |first=George Smith |title=Scotland from 1603 to the present day |publisher=Nelson |year=1962 |page=141 |quote=Population figures for 1801 – Glasgow 77,385; Edinburgh 82,560; for 1821 – Glasgow 147,043; Edinburgh 138,325}}</ref> The city centre between Princes Street and George Street became a major commercial and shopping district, a development partly stimulated by the arrival of railways in the 1840s. The Old Town became an increasingly dilapidated, overcrowded slum with high mortality rates.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hogg |first=A |title=Scotland: The Rise of Cities 1694–1905 |publisher=Evans Brothers Ltd. |year=1973 |isbn=978-0237286569 |location=London |chapter=Topic 3:Problem Areas}}</ref> Improvements carried out under Lord Provost [[William Chambers (publisher)|William Chambers]] in the 1860s began the transformation of the area into the predominantly [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] Old Town seen today.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McWilliam |first=C |title=Scottish Townscape |publisher=Collins |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-00-216743-7 |location=London |page=196}}</ref> More improvements followed in the early 20th century as a result of the work of [[Patrick Geddes]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=McWilliam |first=C |title=Scottish Townscape |publisher=Collins |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-00-216743-7 |location=London |page=197}}</ref> but relative economic stagnation during the two world wars and beyond saw the Old Town deteriorate further before major [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|slum clearance]] in the 1960s and 1970s began to reverse the process. University building developments, which transformed the [[George Square, Edinburgh|George Square]] and Potterrow areas, proved highly controversial.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coghill |first=H |title=Lost Edinburgh |publisher=Birlinn Ltd. |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84158-747-9 |location=Edinburgh |pages=219–220}}</ref>

[[File:Opening of the Scottish Parliament, 1999.jpg|thumb|right|HM [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[First Minister of Scotland|First Minister]] [[Donald Dewar]] at the opening of the [[Scottish Parliament]], 1999]] 

Since the 1990s a new "financial district", including the [[Edinburgh International Conference Centre]], has grown mainly on demolished railway property to the west of the castle, stretching into [[Fountainbridge]], a run-down 19th-century industrial suburb which has undergone radical change since the 1980s with the demise of industrial and brewery premises. This ongoing development has enabled Edinburgh to maintain its place as the United Kingdom's second largest financial and administrative centre after London.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Financial services |url=http://www.investinedinburgh.com/industry-strengths/financial-services/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713075332/http://www.investinedinburgh.com/industry-strengths/financial-services |archive-date=13 July 2017 |access-date=7 July 2017 |website=www.investinedinburgh.com |publisher=Edinburgh City Council}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Keay |first=John |title=Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland |publisher=1994 |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-00-255082-6 |page=286}}</ref> Financial services now account for a third of all commercial office space in the city.<ref name="W Rae, Edinburgh 1994, p.164">{{Cite book |last=Rae |first=William |title=Edinburgh, Scotland's Capital City |publisher=Mainstream |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-85158-605-9 |page=164}}</ref> The development of [[Edinburgh Park]], a new business and technology park covering {{cvt|38|acres|0}}, {{cvt|4|mi|0}} west of the city centre, has also contributed to the District Council's strategy for the city's major economic regeneration.<ref name="W Rae, Edinburgh 1994, p.164" />

In 1998, the [[Scotland Act 1998|Scotland Act]], which came into force the following year, established a [[Devolution|devolved]] Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive (renamed the Scottish Government since September 2007<ref>{{Cite news |title=Scottish Executive renames itself |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6974798.stm |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210132958/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6974798.stm |archive-date=10 February 2009}}</ref>). Both based in Edinburgh, they are responsible for governing Scotland while [[Reserved and excepted matters|reserved matters]] such as defence, foreign affairs, and some elements of income tax remain the responsibility of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] in London.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 November 1998 |title=Scotland Act 1998 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126223544/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46 |archive-date=26 January 2016 |access-date=15 March 2013}}</ref>