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Bristol Urban Forum

Themes

At the first meeting, we asked Bristolians to identify the issues they were most concerned about - the things that really need to change in Bristol. We then organised comments into themes, which are below.

Rather than take the silo approach and look at each theme separately, we have instead worked with participants to find the more fundamental problems that cut across these themes. These have formed the basis for discussion - Locked Out Bristol looks at social exclusion, Cradle to Grave looks at how the city provides for people at different stages of life, and Nocturnal Bristol examines at the city at night.

The Forum aims to think systemically about the problems the city faces because we believe that a theme-by-theme approach neglects the underlying issues.

Themes

Transport

"Lets close the Portway"

"Public Transport journeys are too time consuming"

"Create more car-free zones. Prioritise pedestrians and cyclists"

Tell us what you think

Housing and Development

"We're building houses not homes and communities"

"S106 / CIL process needs reform"

"Community led placemaking"

Tell us what you think

Public Realm

"Some green spaces are innaccessible by public transport"

"More growing spaces on streets"

"No space designed for girls"

Tell us what you think

High Streets

"More meanwhile uses like Sparks"

"Need to look beyond retail to the more experiential"

"Who are our high streets for now? What function do they perform?"

Tell us what you think

Culture

"We need places to go at night that don't revolve around drinking"

"Why is culture only for the city centre? What about the suburbs?"

"Bring culture into the streets"

Tell us what you think

Decision-making

"Some good intentions, e.g. One City, but has it achieved anything?"

"Citizens Assemblies - young people and more subgroups for each age-range"

"Communication at scale"

Tell us what you think

Wellbeing

"Epidemic of loneliness"

"Wellbeing is something we are sold rather than something we are entitled to"

"Lack of funding for public good"

Tell us what you think

Climate Change

"Eco anxiety leads to apathy"

"Grant the collective right to retrofit"

"Knowledge should be accessible, accurate and clear"

Tell us what you think

Food

"Creating more outdoor informal and formal places to eat and gather"

"Food as a catalyst for levelling up opportunity"

"Not enough nutrition education in schools"

Tell us what you think

Crime

"Too many young people are being criminalised because they have nothing to do"

'We need to think more carefully about drugs policy in Bristol"

Tell us what you think

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

"We are still one of the most segregated cities in the UK"

"Too many people are excluded from participating in city life due to class, race, or status"

Tell us what you think

What happens next? These themes will be used to help order our recommendations to the city in the 2024 Place Manifesto for Bristol.

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