CampbellReith was delighted to return for a third consecutive year to support Design West’s Shape My City programme in 2026. This is a talent accelerator for young people aged 15 – 18 years old, with a strong focus on broadening participation and encouraging applications from female students, individuals from BAME backgrounds, and those from under-represented socio-economic groups.
Rob Green, Callum Zangoura, Tom Harris, Amy Donohoe, and Dhruva Lonavath represented our Bristol office and contributed to this year’s programme. Their involvement reflects our continued commitment to supporting and developing future talent within transport planning, masterplanning and design for active travel.
The CampbellReith Team ran a workshop about active travel and placemaking, and how this fits within our broader Transport Planning remit. Students learned about how walking, cycling and other sustainable modes should be considered from the earliest stages of scheme design, and why these principles are essential to creating healthier, more sustainable communities.
As part of the workshop, we took a walk around Bristol city centre to consider real-world examples of active travel infrastructure and how these interact. We thought about:
- How pedestrian areas and cyclist / scooter routes worked (or could work better!)
- How Queen Square had accommodated a dual carriageway running through it until the late 1990s, but had successfully been reverted back to a pedestrian oriented public space
- How Prince Street somewhat abruptly ended the pedestrian focused dockside area
Following the site visit, students took part in a hands-on classroom exercise concentrating on the Prince Street Bridge area. Working in groups, they were tasked with reimagining the space to make it more welcoming, accessible and to encourage Active Travel.
The results were both creative and inspiring. Students proposed a range of thoughtful interventions, including:
- Enhanced pedestrian connectivity
- Improved cyclist safety and segregation
- Introduction of green public spaces
- Integration of retail and social areas to activate the space
Each group presented their ideas, demonstrating not only creativity but also a strong understanding of the principles discussed throughout the session.
It was a fantastic opportunity to engage with a motivated and thoughtful group of young people. Programmes like Shape My City play a vital role in nurturing the next generation of planners, engineers and designers, and we are proud to support their journey. We hope they have come away with a good understanding of how transport planning plays an integral part to improving sustainable travel and creating more enjoyable ways to move around our home city of Bristol.