Bristol Mayor George Ferguson at a recent Make Sunday Special event in Bedminster
Bristol City Council / Chris Bahn
Visitors enjoy the street party in Bedminster
Bristol City Council / Chris Bahn
Press release issued:
19 August 2015
Visitors to future Make Sunday Special events can expect to learn about science and history, as experts from the University of Bristol bring their research to the popular street parties. Upcoming neighbourhood events in Easton, Hartcliffe and Avonmouth will include the opportunity to get involved with some of the ground-breaking projects happening on their doorstep.
These include a demonstration of how sensors can be used to learn about health and detect any possible problems.
It’s part of the Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment (SPHERE) project, which uses advanced engineering solutions to detect changes in people’s physical activity, gait and mood. It’s developing a system of sensors to build a picture of how we live in our homes.
Academics from the University's Cabot Institute will be discussing our environmentally Uncertain World, including the impact of global warming, as well as asking attendees how they think this might impact their own lives.
People in Avonmouth are being called upon to share their stories, family histories, memories, films, photographs and artefacts as part of a unique hands-on history project.
Know Your Bristol has been working with local community groups to create spaces in which people can come together to co-produce knowledge about their city. Together, with Bristol City Council’s Know Your Place team, researchers will be showing old films of Avonmouth, holding guided walks and enabling people to share their stories of the neighbourhood in the ‘history bus’.
Dates and details of the neighbourhood Make Sunday Special events:
- The Easton and Lawrence Hill event takes place on 23 August from 12noon to 6pm. The SPHERE project and the Uncertain World groups will be there.
- Then, SPHERE will be on hand at the Hartcliffe event on 6 September, from 11am to 5pm.
- All three projects will be present in Avonmouth on 13 September, from 11am to 4pm.
More information on Make Sunday Special is available on the Bristol City Council website.
Further information
About SPHERE
The Sensor Platform for Healthcare in a Residential Environment (SPHERE) project is a £12million study, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and led by SPHERE Director Professor Ian Craddock. It uses advanced engineering solutions to detect changes in people’s physical activity, gait and mood to develop a system of sensors for homes.
It could also be used at home as an early warning system to prevent long-term health conditions such as heart disease, dementia and diabetes as well as depression and obesity.
About the Cabot Institute
The Cabot Institute carries out fundamental and responsive research on risks and uncertainties in a changing environment. It drives new research in the interconnected areas of climate change, natural hazards, water and food security, low carbon energy, and future cities. Its research fuses rigorous statistical and numerical modelling with a deep understanding of social, environmental and engineered systems – past, present and future. It seeks to engage wider society by listening to, exploring with, and challenging its stakeholders to develop a shared response to twenty first century challenges.
About Know Your Bristol
The Know Your Bristol project, run by the University of Bristol in partnership with Bristol City Council and local community organisations, is a hands-on history project which enables people to explore, research and co-create Bristol history, heritage and culture using digital tools. It has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the Connected Communities Programme.
