About Bristol Rising

The mission of Bristol Rising…

…is to represent the future downtown community of Bristol, Connecticut throughout its revitalization. Our goal is to create a vibrant destination that is economically, socially and environmentally beneficial to our culture and economy, where thousands of members work together in making it the best place in the country to be!

Bristol Rising is a community where you can:

1. Collaborate with others to revitalize Bristol’s downtown.
2. Submit, vote, and campaign for the ideas you like.
3. Participate in monthly meetups.
4. Discuss important topics in our forums.
5. Learn about “crowdsourced placemaking” and how it will revitalize our downtown.

This is where interested community members contribute to the revitalization of downtown Bristol, according to an agreed upon Triple-Bottom-Line Statement and Crowdsourcing Agreement that establishes whatever ideas are proposed must be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

We should be proud, as this innovative and inclusive crowdsourced placemaking effort is the first of its kind in the nation. Big dreams need a bold approach, and our community will play an integral role in the creation of an environment where we can live, work, shop, play, learn – or all of the above!
The goal is for Bristol Rising to establish itself as a forward-thinking community that is large enough in size (short-term goal in the hundreds of members, long-term goal in the thousands) to be a valued partner in making major decisions regarding significant downtown investments. See answers to the most frequently asked questions on the project here.  And click here to find out how you can act now!

Here is a link to the Concept Plan submitted on April 25, 2011 by Renaissance Downtowns.

The graphs below that illustrate the benefits of the triple-bottom-line approach.

The above graph ‘Bristol 2010′ tells the story of the money that currently leaves Bristol based on your available choice for stores and restaurants, necessity to drive, and how those limited options promote money leaving Bristol’s economy.

Notice the huge spike on the left? That represents a large mass of people who exclusively drive cars to get around, and only shop or dine at national chains. Most people don’t know that spending money at chains actually contributes to money leaving your local economy.  Let us explain

It’s been said for every dollar you spend at Wal-Mart or Ruby Tuesday’s, at least two to three times less money is re-circulated back into the local economy versus local establishments, like a Parkside Cafe or a Riverside Restaurant, where at least 50% more money is put back into city coffers.  So what you thought you saved at Wal-Mart, you may actually be paying for in taxes. (Local vs. Chains)

With this understanding, you can see how truckloads of cash leave Bristol’s economy via chains, which despite their locations are not locally tied to Bristol.

Compare this to the right side of the graph, where there is a contingent of people who wish to drive less extensively, or don’t own a car, and are into dining and shopping locally.  The problem is even if these people wanted to be part of a vibrant, walkable community, supporting local establishments, Bristol is planned in such a way where these people have little choice but to drive, dine, and shop at national chains — or even worse — shop or live elsewhere entirely.

The second graph ‘Bristol 2020 based on current trend’ demonstrates what happens to Bristol’s economy if it continues on its current path of attracting more national chains, gas stations and cars. That result, in orange, would be even more money escaping Bristol’s economy, along with a possible further weakening of its local cultural uniqueness.

The third graph ‘Bristol 2020 based on triple-bottom-line trend’ shows that those who wish to retain their auto-centric, national chain lifestyle can carry on doing so, as represented in red. The green portion is the part of the economy that Bristol can capture if it provides options for those who are seeking alternatives to the national chains and car-crazy lifestyles.  Bristol Rising represents the green. By utilizing a triple-bottom-line approach that results in a more vibrant walkable downtown culturally unique to Bristol, you now have the option to walk, bike, and shop at a compelling new generation of local independent businesses.

Not only will significantly more money stay in the local economy (represented by that green area of the graph), it also will draw new dollars from visitors, as well as provide many indirect and induced benefits to the Bristol community.