Future City Project

We believe that Bristol should be a city-region that is living within environmental limits (one planet living). There are many different ways of achieving this, but we seem to be spending lots of time talking about how to do it. Inertia, differences of opinion, lack of understanding and acknowledgement about the size of the problem, vested interests, political disagreement and many other factors combine to slow down the pace of change. We believe that the imperative is so strong that there is a pressing need for a city-wide proposition that we can all get behind.

There will always be a tension between a truly democratic process during which everyone can feel a part and the ability to progress beyond talking to action. It is our intention to start 2012 by involving as many people as we can, but to also see 2012 as the year where we initiate a process of change that will accelerate our progress towards one planet living.

Click on the links below to find out more about what happened.

You can see all the flip charts from the events here: Event Flip Charts and the slide presentation here: Event Powerpoint slides.

1. European Green Capital Competition
2. Green Economy
3. Land Use
4. Transport
5. Energy
6. Food
7. Waste
8. Nature – this section has been added after the event.

It is our belief that there is an imperative to prepare for change, to plan for a future using different models of land use, transport, energy, food and waste. It is essential that we collaborate in order to reach the tipping point, using the democratic processes and systems to achieve our aims. We need to tackle the predominance of the growth model and look for new economic models that will deliver healthy, happy and harmonious communities without costing the earth.

By gathering ideas from those who are closest to the problems and working with those who have the inclination to create change, a proposal will emerge. Of course, there will be those who will demand more radical change and those who will fight to protect the status quo. Therefore, we must find innovative solutions that are visionary, yet pragmatic and achievable.