The role of Green Blue and Grey Infrastructure (GBGI) in levelling up in Bristol

Project title: The role of Green Blue and Grey Infrastructure (GBGI) in levelling up in Bristol

Project duration: December 2022 to November 2023

Funder: UKRI-funded RECLAIM Network

Project leader for SPE: Professor Danielle Sinnett

Other UWE Bristol researchers:

• Professor Issy Bray (Principal Investigator), Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing 
• Dr Harry West

This project used existing data sets (e.g. surveys) to investigate relationships between green-blue-grey infrastructure (GBGI) and a range of health and social outcomes in neighbourhoods across Bristol. There is mounting evidence about the importance of green (e.g. parks, trees) and blue (e.g. lakes) infrastructure for the health and wellbeing of urban residents. There is also emerging evidence about the benefits of certain ‘grey’ features (e.g. historic buildings, active travel routes).

We measured the distance from residents’ homes to the nearest green, blue, and grey features and linked these measures to self-reported health, social interaction and satisfaction with neighbourhood, to better understand the importance of these specific features for improving people’s lives and reducing inequalities within neighbourhoods and across the city.

Animation

• RECLAIM Project - The role of Green Blue and Grey Infrastructure (GBGI) in levelling up in Bristol (YouTube)

Blogs

• Mapping the relationship between Green-Blue-Grey Infrastructure and quality of life
• Local data collection on health and the built environment: Learning from Bristol’s quality of life survey

Final project report

• RECLAIM - The role of Green Blue and Grey Infrastructure (GBGI) in levelling up in Bristol

Conference presentations

• West, H., Bray, I., Sinnett, D. (2025). Exploring relationships between GBGI exposure and satisfaction and quality of life in Bristol. European Urban Research Association Conference.
• West, H., Bray, I., Sinnett, D. (2024). The relationship between GBGI and quality of life, health and wellbeing in Bristol, UK. International Geographical Congress.
• Bray, I., Sinnett, D., West, H. (2024). The role of GBGI in levelling up in Bristol. RECLAIM Conference 2024.
• West, H., Sinnett, D., Bray, I. (2023). Exploring relationships between GBGI exposure and health and social outcomes in Bristol, UK. Royal Geographical Society Annual International Conference.
• Sinnett, D., West, H., Bray, I. (2023). Mapping the relationship between Green-Blue-Grey Infrastructure (GBGI) and quality of life. Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Annual Congress.
• West, H., Sinnett, D, Bray, I. (2023). Mapping the relationship between green-blue-grey infrastructure (GBGI) and quality of life: A case study of Bristol, UK. European Urban Research Association Conference.
• Story map: Green-Blue-Grey infrastructure and quality of life.

We find that there are statistically significant relationships between many of the GBGI features and neighbourhood satisfaction, but that only satisfaction with access to greenspace is significantly related to health and wellbeing measures. It appears that GBGI features are important in determining neighbourhood satisfaction, but that relationships with general health, wellbeing and quality of life are indirect.

For more information about the project, please contact Professor Danielle Sinnett (danielle.sinnett@uwe.ac.uk) or Professor Issy Bray (issy.bray@uwe.ac.uk).