52 big ideas for Bristol

From a cable car across the city to a boulevard of trees replacing parked cars on one side of Park Street, a new book brings together a collection of ideas to make Bristol more fun, sustainable and inspiring.

52 Big Ideas for Bristol has been published by Clifton-based architects, town planners and landscape architects, Stride Treglown. Download it for free at www.stridetreglown.com/52bigideasforbristol

The launch event will be live streamed on Periscope via @StrideTreglown from 9am on Monday, June 13.

Here are the 52 ideas:

1. Colour Capital
What is most unique about Bristol’s architecture? Its brightly painted houses – creating the most colourful streets in the UK. As with Bristol’s association with street-art, these houses say something about the city’s sense of fun and its reputation for self-expression and non-conformity. Let’s become the colour capital of the UK and provide grants to get more people painting their houses. These could be linked to installing external insulated render to make homes warmer and less draughty at the same time. 

Bunting, tea & cake, rain…. First neighbourhood street party of the summer! ??? #Bristol #loveBristol @WeLoveBristol pic.twitter.com/2JfPysjtlo

— Jess (@porthjess) June 11, 2016

2. Liveable Bristol Awards
A Liveable Bristol Awards would shine a light on the best residential design in the city each year, setting the benchmark to meet and rewarding quality and vision. As well as more conventional award categories such as Best Newbuild, Best Sustainable Home, Best Development, it could include Best Eco-refurb, Best Street, Best Affordable development, Best Garden Design.

3.Bristol board game festival
Bring your board games along for an annual one-day event on the Harbourside and challenge other members of the public. The festival would compliment other local initiatives like Playable City and Happy City. Could a Bristol board game league also be created?

4. Send local post by bike
We think all local mail should be delivered by cyclists to reduce carbon, congestion and pollution in the city. The good news is that there is a already a company doing this, Velopost. Let’s get everyone using this excellent service. If you’re reading this as a hardcopy then the chances are that it was delivered to you by Velopost!

5. Imagine Bristol
An ideas competition for the city open to architects, designers, students and members of the public to come up with grand ideas for the city, explained on a single sheet of paper. Each year there would be a prize and an exhibition.

6. Reinstate Pecha Kucha nights
Now a worldwide phenomenon, these events allowing people to share their thoughts and ideas are being held in over 800 cities, but the last registered session in Bristol took place in 2011.  The 20 x 20 presentation format is fast moving – 20 slides, 20-seconds-per-slide, ensuring it never gets boring. It would give a stage for lots of different speakers, with the potential to showcase interesting work and exciting ideas.

7. Cable car
Cities should think big, bold and ambitious. This is an idea that has previously been suggested by others, but never got off the ground (excuse the pun). A cable car would be a great addition to Bristol’s travel options – perfect for bypassing Bristol’s topography (and traffic!) and a fun way of getting from A to B. Imagine travelling across the city from above.

8. Breathable Bristol map
We should produce a colour-coded map to show what the air quality is for each street in Bristol based on an annual measurement. This would help cyclists and walkers, especially commuters, choose the best routes and highlight which areas need to be tackled, whilst stimulating discussion about what should be done to improve bad areas.

9. Quiet Bristol map
A sister publication of the Breathable Bristol Map. In this case a noise map would identify zones of calm in the city, where the sound of nature wins over traffic.

10. Food maps
Get Bristol eateries to display where all their ingredients come from on a map shown in a prominent location in the establishment. This would encourage them to source local food and make diners more aware of where their food comes from and help them make an informed choice about where they eat. It’s an idea that the Bristol Food Group are already looking at.

11. Grey-to-Green: A 2025 goal
Let’s plant more trees. One of the best ways to help cities adapt to climate change is to reduce hard surface. Trees and green space reduce flooding and create cooling in summer, as well as providing a range of health benefits. A simplistic map showing what percentage of the city is green through aerial photos, which would include tree canopy, could be created. Current estimates put Bristol at 15%. We can then target to increase this by 2025 through tree planting, green roofs and green space. Many international cities are already way ahead in this area. Annapolis in the US for example has a canopy of 44.5% cover. 

12. City workstations
Most public seating in the city is not conducive to social interaction – benches do not allow sitters to face each other and few have tables. What about well designed fixed furniture that could be used for meetings? They could even include solar charging stations. With modern technology we can work just about anywhere – let’s make the city’s parks and waterfront more work-friendly. 

13. The Paving Project
Many of Europe’s cities boast a fabulous historic city centre, with no tarmac in sight. Instead, there are beautiful paved and cobbled pedestrian-friendly areas evoking a great sense of quality and history. In Bristol, many beautiful old streets have been tarmacked over and the character of the city is fragmented. We should uncover these and identify an area to be entirely tarmac-free. Residents and businesses could sponsor paviours and take real ownership of their city centre.

14. Park Street
Imagine a boulevard of trees up this beautiful Bristol thoroughfare in place of the parked cars along the right-hand side. Trees could be interspersed with cycle hoops, seating and planters, making it a nicer environment for shoppers and a positive link with College Green. After all, it’s called Park Street, not Parking Street.

15. Dye the Floating Harbour green
It’s been done elsewhere and has created a stunning effect for a few days. The dyes are natural and have no impact on wildlife or water quality. The event would highlight what a wonderful asset that the Floating Harbour is and could be used to raise awareness about water quality in Bristol.

16. Harbour Light
Like the previous idea this would be a stunning spectacle – in this case thousands of lanterns floating down the centre of Bristol. It could tell us information about the waterflow and for one summers evening, turn the Floating Harbour into a beautiful glittering display. 

17. College greened
The façade of City Hall on College Green (which let’s face it, for Bristol’s most prominent building is not the most inspiring) transformed into a living planted wall. It could also include edible planting at lower levels. It would give a new meaning to ‘College Green’ with the Councils’s offices making a strong statement about Bristol as a Green city.

18. The Downs turbine
It’s an idea we proposed some years ago, before Bristol was awarded Green Capital status – a single wind turbine in one of Bristol’s windiest spots… the Downs; did you know the Observatory started life as a windmill? Its central location would be a highly visible symbol of Bristol’s commitment to being a sustainable city and with an internally climbable shaft and viewing platform it would also be an exciting and educational visitor attraction, just walking distance from Bristol Zoo.

19. Portway-Greenway
Extend the road tunnel currently below the Suspension Bridge all the way down the Portway. The spectacular Avon Gorge would be restored to a haven for nature instead of being filled with diesel fumes and traffic noise. It would offer walkers and cyclists a unique route to the Downs along the top of the tunnel roof, which could be greened like the New York Highline.

20. Bristol beach
There was an artificial beach in the city some years ago and it was extremely popular. Let’s do it again and this time make it permanent! There should also be a safe open-air place to swim next to it, that would unquestionably be a huge draw in the summer. 

21. All new roofs either solar or green
Paris and other cities have implemented this initiative and there is no reason why Bristol couldn’t enforce something similar for all new buildings. Roofs are a hugely underused resource that could be helping us meet Climate Change targets or introduce more nature into the city.

22. Bristol’s best trees
An online tool mapping Bristol’s oldest or most beautiful and valued trees, as voted by Bristolians. An interactive website would let the public upload photos of their favourite specimens to create a fantastic virtual resource of treasured trees for everyone to discover and enjoy.

23. Bristol plant swap
The name says it all – one day every other month. Queen Square. Bring your unwanted plants. Pick up a free new plant for your garden/balcony/windowsill/office and see Bristol looking like the last day of the Chelsea Flower Show.

24. Balloon Bristol
Bristol is famous for hot air balloons. We should create a world class museum in the city celebrating this link and giving visitors the opportunity to enjoy a bird’s eye perspective of Bristol from a year-round tethered balloon, which was once a popular fixture in Castle Park.

25. Bike hotel
A purpose-made facility at the city’s main transport hub, Temple Meads, for Bristol’s ever growing cycle population to store their bikes and gear in a manned, safe, clean, state-of-the-art building. There are already some inspiring examples of these types of buildings in Europe and as the UK’s forward-thinking cycling city it would celebrate this status and make it easier for even more people to bike to work.

26. Inter-company pedometer challenge
Teams from offices and potentially schools across the city challenging each other with a virtual Bristol to John O’Groats race. It would create healthy competition between teams and promote the benefits of active lifestyles. Which company or school class will do the most steps and get there the quickest?

27. Park and…
In 2014 we had Luke Jerram’s hugely popular Park and Slide – a water slide down the length of Park Street. This could become an annual fixture with a changing theme each year. Park and Zorb, with zorbers being channelled to end up safely on College Green; Park and board, a winter version with Park Street transformed over a weekend for snowboarders with artificial snow; Park and Roll, an office chair race… London has an annual Red Bull sponsored Soapbox Derby, so let’s have a regular Bristol event and have more fun on Park Street!

28. Bristol netwalking network
It’s something we’ve been trialling as a company and could be expanded to get other companies and local groups meeting and talking to each other while getting exercise and fresh air. Let’s move meetings outside and enjoy Bristol’s parks and green spaces.

29. Dawn chorus at work
30 minutes of birdsong played in offices across Bristol on a Friday morning. A great way to start the weekend! It could also happen in the city’s larger shops and in Temple Meads and could be championed by Bristol’s own BBC Natural History Unit.

30. Weatherometer
In Millennium Square, an interactive weather-responsive display feature that provides a highly-visible, interpretation of local environmental data – rainwater levels, air quality, temperature, solar collection, in a fun and educational way. It could be a collaboration piece between an artist, At-Bristol and Aardman.

31. Wild walk
Imagine a 1km wildflower strip joining the city centre to the Botanic Gardens on the other side of Downs. Green space in Bristol is quite disjointed and this would be a unifying idea for a linear route that would create a beautiful summer fixture, enticing walkers to this undervalued botanical attraction.

32. Bike escalator
Bristol is Britain’s cycling city but unlike 2014’s European Green Capital, Copenhagen, our challenging contours probably put off quite a few would-be cyclists.  A device inset into one of Bristol’s most hilly streets, Park Street, would help cyclists get up this iconic hill and get more people on their bike. It’s not so far-fetched, having been already been implemented in other topographically testing cities, like Trondheim in Norway, where their bike escalator has become one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions.

33. Green carpets
One way to literally green up some of our public space is to introduce artificial grass. In some circumstances this material can be more suitable than natural grass because it is extremely hard wearing and needs no irrigation. Some of the city’s grey and uninviting spaces could be greened into welcoming, pedestrian-friendly places overnight.

34. Five-mile-market
A market with one rule – only things made or grown within five miles can be sold. It would highlight the great diversity of produce and creativity within the city and encourage shoppers to buy local.

35. Tai Chi on College Green
A one-off mass Tai Chi event in Bristol’s most prominent public space. If it was popular it could become a regular event.

36. Castle Park winter gardens
Think Eden Project in Bristol city centre. This south-facing park is poorly visited despite its fantastic central waterside location. Imagine a large enclosed, warm, year-round space filled with subtropical planting and cafes. It could also be used for food production and transform this area into one of Bristol’s most exciting destinations.

37. Cycle shoals
An app that all cyclists can register with to find out where other cyclists are and join up with to navigate the city’s streets in safe ‘cycle shoals’.

38. The Big Sleep
Getting everyone to sleep under the stars for one night. In their gardens, on their patios, in tents, and even on the Downs. The Downs is for the people of Bristol – for one night a year let’s let people camp out and enjoy it under canvas!

39. [Power] cut
The New Cut diverted the flow of the Avon in the early 1800s to create the Bristol docks, the area which now forms the iconic harbourside which Bristol is famous for. Why don’t we re-purpose this engineering feat for the 21st century by utilising the water to produce regular renewable energy for the city? This has been proposed before, including in recent years, but tidal stream technology is advancing at such a pace that surely now is the time to look at this idea again.

40. Harness people power in Cabot Circus
Cabot Circus has probably the highest footfall in Bristol. We could be exploiting the kinetic energy produced by all these steps by installing proven kinetic-capture technology into special paving that would convert this energy into electricity.

41. Bristol’s nature capital
A study to assess the equivalent monetary value of Bristol’s ecosystem, its individual trees and natural features in the city centre. It would help us understand and value their contribution to providing water attenuation, shading, air quality, habitat, visual and physical amenity, stress relief and wellbeing. 

42. Cooking stations
Facilities on the harbourside and in park spaces for the public to BBQ and cook at. This happens in other cities and would tie in well with Bristol’s wellbeing and sustainable food initiatives. Herb and vegetable planters could be installed next to them, as well as food waste and compost bins.

43. Bristol’s urban pentathlon
Teams would compete in a number of different challenges around the city, inspired by the topography and natural settings of our local landmarks and spaces e.g. cycling up Vale Street – allegedly the UK’s steepest residential street, climbing the Gorge, kayaking the Avon… 

44. Bristol’s harbourswim
An annual race held one weekend in summer along the Floating Harbour. It would undoubtedly be an extremely popular event, watching competitors swim through the city centre and it would highlight issues regarding water quality in the city. New laws could be introduced to limit boats in the harbour to people/solar/wind or biofuel powered only.

45. Solar square
France is putting in 1000km of solar roadway. Bristol could convert Millennium Square into a huge solar collector by swapping conventional paving for PV paving.  These could power the TV screen in the Square and neighbouring buildings in the Harbourside development. Many photovoltaic paviours also have inbuilt LED lights so that the floor surface can produce exciting lighting effects or even mark out different sports pitch arrangements. Anyone for basketball? 

46. A good lighting plan
Street lighting effects how we perceive Bristol at night, how safe we feel, how much energy the city uses, how much of the night sky we see and the health of the city’s nocturnal natural species. Bristol needs a joined-up lighting strategy which responds positively to all these issues, in the same way that the Good Transport Plan is has produced a vision for the City’s road and street network.

47. A to B, H 2 0. High speed water taxis
The Floating Harbour is an underused resource in Bristol’s sustainable transport strategy. High speed electric boats could be used between 7 and 9.30am to ferry commuters from Temple Meads to several stops in the centre and beyond, skipping the traffic and providing a convenient and exhilarating way to get to work.

48. Strategic thermal imaging map
Bristol wants to be carbon neutral by 2050 and most carbon is expelled in the heating of our existing building stock. Thermal imaging software can help us tackle this by identifying where buildings are losing heat from poor insulation and construction. Pictures are normally taken from street level but in this idea aerial thermal photography could create heat maps of whole areas of Bristol. By showing hot or cold roofs this would quickly and simply highlight which buildings are losing the most heat, so that one-by-one we can tackle the worst performing properties.

49. Temple mead
Urban bee station. Some of our most biodiverse environments are along road edges and railway tracks, where nature is largely left to its own devices and seeds and pollen are carried in the air movement of passing vehicles and trains. Hives at Bristol’s main train node could produce and sell highly marketable mead and honey at the station.

50. Self-build exemplar
There’s a self-build housing revolution happening but Bristol’s barely seeing any of it. The Council should identify land for those wanting to build their own home, as others are doing around Europe and in other parts of the UK.  Alternatively all new large residential developments could be required to set aside plots for self-builders. These could be models for good development – zero carbon, affordable, formed around communities and help deliver some of Bristol’s much needed newhousing.

51. Bristol’s environmental footprint
Mapping Bristol’s geographical size if this was calculated showing the area of land that Bristol actually needs for food, energy, resources and water. It would be a powerful graphical illustration of how much land the city needs to sustain itself. Bristol could set out to join one of the other global One Planet Cities. 

52. Clifton rocks
Not the historic Clifton Rocks railway but an idea for an annual music festival in one of Bristol’s most special places, the setting of Clifton Observatory. This commanding location was an iron age fort and now a grassy bowl enclosed by woodland on one side, with views over the Clifton suspension bridge and Avon Gorge on the other – a natural amphitheatre and place of gathering. Let’s breathe life into this underused magnificent space, which may not have heard the sound of drums for 2000 years…

Read more: Big plans to brush-up Broadmead