Edinburgh foreword

As the new editor of The Scotsman I have been residing in Edinburgh for a relatively short time. What strikes me as fascinating is that the city enthrals both newcomers and long-time residents alike.

Its magic remains powerful no matter how long you've been here. Edinburgh continues to seduce as love affairs with many other cities fade away. For all that it is a rapidly changing city too, and the pace of change is ever increasing. Although the parliament is certainly the most high-profile building to go up in the Scottish Capital in recent years, bringing much new life to the Holyrood and Canon gate area, the city has also seen successful growth in other areas that had remained stagnant for years, including the Financial sector at Morrison Street and Lothian Road, the Omni centre at Greenside Place and the new HBOS bank building at Tollcross. The confidence of the financial sector in the city was underlined by the decision of the Royal Bank of Scotland to build its new global headquarters here at Gogarburn. But the growth continues and there are many new exciting developments in the pipeline,  like the ambitious Waterfront development, the new biomedical park, The Quartermile project in the heart of the city and the expansion of the hugely successful Edinburgh Park as well as other projects too numerous to mention here. It would not be using journalistic licence to say the city is booming. Edinburgh is a beautiful city with a unique built heritage to which it owes a great deal of its reputation as a fantastic place to live and work, and therefore a great deal of its success. The city has a unique challenge to boldly develop and innovate, as it has before, while preserving the treasures of the past. Perhaps the future of Princes Street, arguably Scotland's best-known retail thoroughfare, best embodies this challenge. Recognising the change in the city's fast-moving development, infrastructure is developing too. The city's transport needs are changing and the airport is expanding, there are plans for a rail link to the airport and another for the Borders, and a tram system for the city centre which would also link to the airport. But there are still some major transport issues to be tackled, not least how the vital link across the Forth to Fife is developed. The world famous Edinburgh Festival remains the highlight of the year but it must continue to innovate to see off upstarts around the world. There is enough passion and creativity in the city to ensure this is achieved. The challenges that come with an expanding Edinburgh are the best kind of challenges, and I am confident they will continue to be met in the city's customary dynamic and ambitious way. It is not just vital for the city, but vital for Scotland. Edinburgh and the Lothians are the heartland of The Scotsman and we also continue to evolve as a newspaper, keeping pace with the fast-moving environment in which we live.  If you give us a try, I'm confident you'll stick with us. Mike Gilson Editor The Scotsman