Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Our research
Bristol academics have collaborated with local cultural organisations on new ways to engage audiences through virtual and augmented reality. Decolonising Memory: Digital Bodies in Movement brought together collaborators’ expertise in dance and digital creative technologies with University research around enslavement and public memory. An augmented reality app enabled people to explore sites and landmarks in the city which have connections to the histories and legacies of transatlantic enslavement. Another collaboration, with Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, created a virtual reality app which takes users on a journey back in time to Ancient Greece where they can experience first-hand what it was like to consult the Oracle of Dodona.
A new tool to assess urban development proposals for their effect on health was developed by University researchers in 2023. Working with colleagues at the University of Bath, the tool evaluates 28 factors across a wide range of areas including buildings, transport, air pollution, green spaces, and infrastructure for how they might impact the health of future residents in new urban spaces. The study forms part of TRUUD, a larger project focused on tackling the root causes of health inequalities and challenges that relate to urban development.
Our students
The University’s MA in Black Humanities is a unique programme offering students the opportunity to explore the global histories, philosophies, languages, literature and art of people of African descent. The course also considers issues around systemic racism and social justice in historical and contemporary contexts, including Bristol’s own legacy and challenges in relation to the trafficking of enslaved African people. Situated within the University’s Centre for Black Humanities, students can access diverse perspectives from across the arts and humanities fields.
A number of special collections are held at the University, across the areas of art, architecture, geography, literature, medicine, music, politics, religion, and wildlife. These rich and diverse collections include printed books, journals, archival material, and artefacts dating from the 11th century to the present. They are open to students as well as staff and visitors, and can be used for reference or research free of charge. In 2023, digitised versions of some collections formed part of The Uncertain Space, a new virtual museum launched by the University to share some of the public artworks and other items held by the University with our community and beyond.
Our communities
Bristol is a UNESCO City of Film, in part due to the role the city has played in wildlife film-making since the establishment of the BBC Natural History Unit. In 2023, the University’s Wildlife Filmmaking Oral Histories Collection was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World programme, a register of significant documents from across the globe, catalogued for future generations to learn from and enjoy. The Collection is a series of oral history video interviews and transcripts with wildlife filmmakers which were recorded between 1998 and 2011. They represent a unique and significant piece of our national documentary heritage.
Injurious Effect, a new artwork embracing the industrial and societal history of the location of our Bristol Digital Futures Institute in Temple Quarter, went on display in 2022. A local artist used accounts from residents in the Barton Hill History Group, interviews with local historians, and oral histories of the gas works in Avon Street to create an audio artwork and sculpture inspired by the Wardian Case, popular in Victorian homes to protect plants from perceived pollution from gas lights. The artwork explores the relationship between innovation, the fears and perceptions of technology, and societal change, prompted by the history of the building that was the former headquarters of the Bristol Gas Company.
Ourselves
Our Travel and Transport Delivery Plan aims to mitigate the impacts of transport by reducing demand and reliance on motorised modes through smart working practices and campus development, making sustainable travel the first choice for all essential commuting and business journeys, and improving the efficiency of operational and supply chain transport. We offer advice, practical support and incentives to staff and students to encourage the use of sustainable travel, and in 2023, 82% of staff and 86% of student journeys were being made by sustainable modes of transport.
Construction work began in May 2023 on the University’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, a £500 million investment into new facilities for education, innovation and research. The new campus, due to open in 2026, is being built on brownfield land, the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office, and forms a central part of the wider redevelopment of the Temple Quarter area of the city. The campus will house 4,600 students and 650 staff along with business and community partners, and will include new walking and cycling paths that join the city centre to the east of Bristol.