Bristol has always been a city of dreamers and visionaries. From religious millenarians to social reformers, from science fiction writers to climate activists, people have continually reimagined what Bristol could become. This talk explores these varied and often conflicting visions of our city’s future, examining how different people and communities have sought to build their ideal Bristol, and what we might learn from their successes and failures.
The presentation traces four interconnected strands of utopian thinking in Bristol. First, the religious visionaries – Exclusive Brethren, Mormons, Swedenborgians, and others – who saw Bristol as a potential sanctuary ripe for spiritual transformation. Second, the social reformers – from anti-slavery activists to suffragettes, from poets to trade unionists – who fought to reshape the city’s politics and succeeded in ways we now take for granted. Third, the speculative imaginations found in works like Future Bristol, Infinite Detail, Bristopia, and the Bristol One City Plan 2050, which use fiction and planning to prototype possible futures.
And finally, the climate reality we’re already entering: a Bristol facing flooding, temperature extremes, and the urgent need for adaptive ingenuity. Together, these visions reveal how each generation has wrestled with the question: what should Bristol become?
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