Study title

This qualitative data was collected as part of the Urban ID project (one of the RCUK Urban Living Partnership projects). The data was collected in order to explore neighbourhood factors that aided or hindered the happiness of older residents in a specific urban ward: Staple Hill, in Bristol, UK. The motivation for the study was to understand older residents’ experiences, particularly through this concept of ‘happiness’, a concept that has been less examined than older peoples’ well-being or quality of life for example. The particular ward was chosen as it contains variation in levels of deprivation, includes a high quality greenspace, contains above average percentages of older residents, and represents a type of urban ward that has been less researched than others. Each participant led the researcher around significant places in their neighbourhood as we discussed their happiness. As European Green Capital 2015 and one of the Rockefeller 100 Resilient Cities, Bristol has challenged itself to transform by 2065 into a place where citizens 'flourish' by working together to create wellbeing, and achieve this equitably and sustainably. The Bristol Urban Area can legitimately claim to be in the vanguard of such urban transformation, and yet its development pathway remains characterised by paradox, and the need to deal with some stark realities and to challenge a 'business-as-usual' mind-set if progress towards aspirational goals is to be sustained. This proposal addresses a fundamental issue: what is stopping Bristol from bridging the gap between its current situation and the desired future as encapsulated in the City's various visions and aspirations? We have forged a partnership focused on the contiguous City of Bristol and South Gloucestershire urban area. We have secured the full backing of the two local authorities, Bristol Green Capital Partnership and Bristol Health Partners, the LEP, the local business community, citizen groups, and academics from across...