Help shape Southampton’s future…
All it takes is an idea.

Have you got a great idea for Southampton? We want to hear about it!

Whether it’s fun, clever, ambitious, simple, ground-breaking, wacky, sensible or alternative, we would like to hear ideas that can help to merge culture with places all around Southampton. These ideas could be on a large scale to drive change or they could be a little smaller to bring a smile to people’s faces.

No matter the size, we’re looking for ideas that will enhance the fantastic community spirit of the City.

Share your BIG IDEA in 100 words or less, and if you have a picture (drawing, photo, diagram, artwork) that explains your idea we’d love to see that too!

Why Big Ideas for Southampton?

The City of Southampton is aiming to become the UK’s City of Culture in 2025. Should Southampton be successful, the city will host a year-long programme of events that celebrates its heritage, encourages involvement in its cultural offerings, inspires creativity and helps realise ambitions. Irrespective of the outcome of the bid, this is an amazing opportunity for the city to be bold in establishing a new Southampton brand of culture that will not only appeal to everyone but will bring many social and economic benefits to the city.

The relationship between culture and the places in which we live, work and play is inseparable. As two leading built environment and placemaking experts, we have joined forces to explore and encourage innovative quirky and sustainable ideas, in a post Covid world, for turning our streets, buildings and open spaces into cultural places that will appeal to the Southampton community, and its visitors.

Just one of our big ideas

Southampton roads can get very busy when people are travelling to school, to work, from one side of the city to the other or further afield. We benefit from being situated on the water’s edge and perhaps we could utilise the water to ease the congestion by providing water taxis. Hop on and hop off an exciting way to travel to work, from shopping centre to home or coast to coast!

All submitted ideas that pass our Big Idea Checklist will be published on this website, with full credit given to you, the idea creator! A selection of these big ideas will then go on to be included in a book of cultural ideas for the city, set to be published later this year. Who knows, we might see your big idea come to life for Southampton to enjoy!

Big Idea Checklist

Want your idea published on this website? Check it follows the Big Idea Checklist

  • Easy to understand
  • Can be explained in less than 100 words
  • Relevant to Southampton
  • Not offensive
What are the judging criteria?

There’s no such thing as a bad idea, so don’t worry about how practical the idea is at this very early stage, we’d just love to hear about it! Just make sure it follows the Big Idea Checklist.

How many ideas are you looking to publish in the book?

We’re hoping for 25 Big Ideas for the book, but there may be many more that deserve to be printed! Ideas that make it into the book will be selected by a panel of people from Southampton, and experts in culture and the built environment (to be confirmed).

What sorts of ideas are you looking for?

Whether it’s a thought that’s come to mind when strolling through the City parks about how we can bring our communities together, reduce rubbish on our streets or something more technical and futuristic we want to hear them all!

Some examples from Stride Treglown’s 52 Big Ideas for Bristol project to give a little food for thought
  • Send local post in the city by bicycle, so it’s quicker and greener.
  • Install a cable car to help people explore the city (Bristol is quite hilly).
  • Plant mini parks in public parking spaces.
  • Install solar roadways by swapping conventional paving for solar panels.

Click here to view some of the 52 Big Ideas for Bristol

Can anyone participate?

Anyone and everyone. And no idea is a bad idea!