North Lanarkshire sits in Scotland's central belt and contains towns such as Motherwell, Coatbridge, Airdrie, Cumbernauld, Wishaw, Bellshill and Kilsyth. The area combines former heavy industry with large tracts set aside for recreation and housing; Ravenscraig, once a large steelworks near Motherwell, is a major regeneration site. Watercourses and historic transport routes shaped local growth: the Monkland Canal and the Calder waters run through the district, and Strathclyde Country Park with Strathclyde Loch provides a managed open space for sailing and walking. Cumbernauld was designated a new town in 1956 and retains its planned town centre layout from that period.
Local heritage includes industrial collections and Roman remains. Coatbridge hosts the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, which documents ironworks and mining in the Monklands, and the line of the Antonine Wall passes sites such as Castlecary within the council area. Towns are connected by frequent rail services and a network of trunk roads that link residents to Glasgow and other parts of the central belt, while local planning focuses on housing renewal, transport and brownfield redevelopment.
