Webinar #34 - Public Engagement in Bristol and Guildford

The thirty-forth webinar of the 'Reclaiming Forgotten Cities - Turning Cities from Vulnerable Spaces to Healthy Places for People' took place on Wednesday 5th March 2025. The webinar was chaired by Prof Laurence Jones from UKCEH. This webinar included two speakers: Dr Issy Bray, Associate Professor, Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing, UWE Bristol and Ben McCallan, Green Futures Engagement Lead, Surrey County Council & Founder, Zero Carbon Guildford. Dr Issy Bray delivered a talk on "GBGI and Quality of Life in Bristol" and Ben McCallan on "Green Infrastructures in Guildford".

After the talk a Q&A session was chaired by Prof Prashant Kumar from University of Surrey.

Short bio of speakers:
- Issy Bray is an Associate Professor in Public Health (Epidemiology) based in the Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing at UWE Bristol. She is a Member of the Faculty of Public Health through Distinction. Her research is broadly concerned with understanding the relationship between the environment and health, particularly how access to urban green space can reduce inequalities in mental wellbeing. Much of Bray’s recent work has been commissioned by policy-makers e.g. Scottish Government, WHO Europe and Bristol City Council.

- Ben studied physical geography at Royal Holloway and has stayed in Surrey since graduating, with a particular interest in local community organising on the climate crisis over the last 4 years. Ben is focused on creating collaborative solutions to help bring residents, councils, and businesses together to tackle climate breakdown, but also has a particular interest in how the co-benefits of urban greening can help us remodel our towns and streets in an effort to adapt to a rapidly changing planet, as well as creating healthier and more enjoyable places to live as part of a strategy to reduce emissions.