UKCRIC Bristol Infrastructure Collaboratory
The UKCRIC Bristol Collaboratory will establish Bristol as a ‘living laboratory’ and support transdisciplinary communities of academics, industry and citizens to address shared infrastructure and city problems.
Our City’s collaborative ethos is reflected on our Urban Observatory’s name as well as our approach, where co-production is at the heart of establishing research capabilities that study and address the challenges of modern infrastructure across sectors. At the Bristol Infrastructure Collaboratory, we develop the capability, skills and interactions between stakeholders that are required to deliver the next generation of infrastructure systems.
By bringing together a range of initiatives and activities (Bristol Is Open, smart infrastructure test beds, Bristol City Council and the University’s innovative Engine Shed), the Bristol Infrastructure Collaboratory will create accessible engagement and co-production spaces open to citizens and young people.
Relocatable laboratories will also take UKCRIC activities into schools and communities that would not normally have access to or engage with such activities.
Activities
The Clifton Suspension Bridge as a demonstrator for smart monitoring of existing infrastructures
Can we understand the structural stability of the bridge using improved measurements, and better inform the city’s risk threshold for bridge closure (e.g. under conditions of high wind etc)?
Bristol Community Energy Campus
University of Bristol as a living lab for open data energy management
It is relatively easy for a business to manage demand within its own building, but how can campuses/communities ‘collaborate’ to reduce demand and create an energy system that both reduces energy use and increases renewable energy options?
Moving in shared spaces
Investigating interactions between complex transport infrastructures and people in ‘shared spaces'
How can we create shared spaces that: minimise conflict between pedestrians, cyclists, road users and others; improve people’s experiences of shared space; and encourage greater and more effective use of these shared public infrastructures?
Visual patterns in the city and walkability
The city as a living lab to understand the sensory impact of city infrastructure on citizens’ health and wellbeing
How can we create urban environments that encourage people to travel more actively? What is the role of sensory information in this? Starting with visual information, this case study aims at understanding how sensory information affects people’s walking behaviour, improves people’s experiences of spaces, and encourages greater and more inclusive use of public infrastructures.
Water and the built environment
We are devloping a series of smart infrastructure testbeds to better understand the deployment and use of affordable sensor sets to better understand the impact of the built environment on water quality.
Citizen sensing
Working with tools developed through the Array of Things and Smart Citizen Kits we are developing a platform for rapid deployment of sensing sets to establish the city of Bristol as a ‘living lab’ and support transdisciplinary communities of academics, industry and citizens to address shared infrastructure and city problems. Urban innovation is at the heart of the Bristol Infrastructure Collaboratory, which is focussed on working with city stakeholders following Urban Observatory methodologies to better define and understand key issues, and then deploy suitable urban technologies to collect data in order to support decision making in response to these challenges.
Collaboration space
We are developing a collaboration hub at a local innovation incubator, the Engine Shed which will support the development of new technological advances which meet the Urban Observatory aims. This will support us in engaging with key local, national and international stakeholders and also a space to extend our work with Knowle West Media Centre in delivering a citizen maker programme which will focus on meeting the aims of the Urban Observatory, this will enable engagement with citizens to understand their needs in relation to Urban Observatories.
For more information please contact Dr Theo Tryfonas.
This new £2M facility will be part of the UKCRIC national network of urban laboratories.