https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/25/poverty-safari-orwell-books-prize-scottish-rapper-loki
The book ‘Poverty Safari’, written by Scottish author and rapper Darren McGarvey, aka Loki, claimed the Orwell Prize 2018 for political writing. The book provides an autobiographical tale of the authors upbringing in Pollok, a high rise scheme in south Glasgow in the early 1990s.
The author experienced first hand the impacts of a planned environment intended to be a social solution to an urban problem. This book delves deep into the psyche of a community which struggled to find purpose and meaning due to the lower class social mantra associated with these residential schemes. It is a stark reminder of the impacts which urban planning can have upon the outlook and livelihoods of what became an increasingly marginalised part of society.