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In order to reverse the effects of climate change we must re-imagine how our cities work. Capitalism is a leading driver in the climate crisis, unsustainable consumption patterns and the unjust concentration of wealth contributing significantly to the issue, meaning a large scale policy change is necessary.

This thesis recognises that economic growth is a priority for the country, and that the abolition of capitalism is not a sustainable or appropriate solution to the issue, and as such proposes that a turn to localism would not only be more sustainable and environmentally friendly, but allow our cities to thrive. The UK Creative Industries are the biggest contributors to our national economy. Bristol is already a thriving creative city, a successful cluster in its own right.

It is apparent however that the existing creative firms fail to engage the entire city, creativity most commonly used as a mechanism for regeneration, and in turn, a damaging form of art-led gentrification. Following NESTA’s Creative Industries Cluster Programme, this thesis proposes the physical realisation of the Policy & Evidence Center at the end of Spike Island, with three main objectives: establish localism in Bristol through investing in creatives; support existing local creatives; and enable political agency for creatives in a bottom-up approach. The proposal can be understood in three programmatic elements: Siltworks, a proposal for the creative reuse of the abundance of silt deposited on site to facilitate production and in turn support local businesses; a creative clay space offering a vibrant environment to foster creativity with a focus on clay utilised from the river; and the Policy & Evidence Centre providing state of the art office facilities with a central auditorium pod.

The proposal aims to reimagine the separation currently limiting local policy and growth, by encouraging direct relationships between creatives, researchers and policy-makers in a state of the art innovation centre. When successful, Siltworks should serve as a flagship facility for localism, and aim to re-imagine arts and culture policy at a local scale.