For me it begins with John and Mary. In the 1840s my paternal great-great-grandparents moved from being farm labourers and handloom weavers to earning a wage as “power loom weavers” in an East Lancashire mill town. They were part of a major migration from country to town, from agriculture to industry, partly driven by a desire for a better life and partly imposed by circumstances, which was a crucial element in the creation of Britain, for a while at least, as the Workshop of the World. Eventually it was my turn to migrate, to a town in East Anglia then to North America and finally I came to Glasgow – the largest city and the greatest cultural distance – where I am happy to have made my home for the last several decades.

Recently the United Nations reported that more than half the world’s population now lives in cities and towns. John and Mary’s migration experience is repeated across the world and is a major contributor to the growth of our cities. What is the experience of urban life for new arrivals? I know that Glasgow is a friendly, welcoming, bustling and exciting city. But it can also on occasion be unsettling, even threatening, and for those from a simple, agricultural background, like John and Mary, it will be unfamiliar and confusing.