It’s around five or six o’clock in the evening and you’re going home from work or maybe school. But you’re stuck in the seemingly endless traffic of your city. Surely everyone who has ever lived in a city must have experienced this situation many times. This is the same situation that many of the cities that have implemented or are starting to implement the 15-minute city concept want to avoid. With a core motive of sustainability, this concept has gained traction around the world in many cities.
Concept
The 15-minute city concept is based on sustainability and improving people’s lifestyles. Based on current city structures and the problems people face in their daily lifestyles, the 15-minute city aims to solve these problems by making neighbourhoods where all daily necessities like groceries, schools, hospitals, etc are within fifteen minutes of reach either by walking, cycling or public transportation. Coined by Carlos Moreno, the ’15-minute’ city is an iteration of the idea of ‘neighbourhood units’ developed by American planner Clarence Perry during the 1920s.
The key points of the 15-minute city are that it offers a boost to the local economy, a stronger sense of community, better health and well-being as well as lower transport emissions and thus, better air quality.
Having all daily necessities within reach means that each neighbourhood is like a small city or village on its own. This means that more requirements are created for jobs like grocery clerks, hairdressers, and other local employment opportunities. This will consequently give a boost to the local economies. The encouragement of walking and cycling means that it is much more likely that people will observe more things around them and the possibility of making unexpected stops while going towards their destination is much more as compared to taking a car or two-wheeler. In such scenarios, third places become very important for each neighbourhood module. The inclusion of third spaces such as recreational parks, art centres, etc., helps in fostering community bonds. Bonds are also created with local shop owners or workers.
Walking and bicycling are the core modes of transportation in the 15-minute city concept. Walking and cycling are encouraged in local neighbourhoods to perform daily necessities. Public transportation networks are also an important part and have to be well connected. The goal is to decentralise the city and instead make it polycentric. By making it so that every necessity is nearby the dependency on personal vehicles such as cars and two-wheelers lessens. This, in turn, creates low-traffic roads where transportation becomes more time efficient while at the same time, significantly reducing the amount of carbon emissions from vehicles. It is not that the city dictates that one must only walk or cycle but rather, it is the offering of a choice to the residents to improve their lifestyle.
Implementation
The 15-minute city concept and related ideas have already been adopted by 16 cities worldwide, and more are in the process of being implemented. These include Paris, Barcelona, Vancouver, Seattle, Melbourne and others. Among them, Paris is at the forefront of implementing the 15-minute city concept. It was with the 15-minute city concept as her manifesto that the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo was able to secure the votes of the residents. And since her rule, she has promoted many policies to create self-sufficient neighbourhoods where daily necessities can be covered within a short radius. The core of the Paris concept sees schools as capitals, making them the centre of each neighbourhood. Schoolyards have been refurbished into parks to make them accessible for other activities after classes and at the weekend. Multiple streets that were previously being used for cars have been converted into green corridors and pedestrian-friendly pathways. The road along the famous Sein river of Paris that was, until a few years ago, a highway filled with traffic has been converted to a car-free linear park for residents of the city.
It would not be an exaggeration to say the COVID-19 pandemic was a big part of the catalyst in shifting Paris towards automobile-free roads. It was in 2020, during the lockdown that the Mayor of Paris had closed off multiple streets and turned them into temporary bike lanes. Many of which have become permanent. According to WRI – World Resources Institute, “Today, the city has over 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) of cycling routes, including separate bike lanes, painted paths and converted bus lanes that are now open to cyclists.” Concepts amount to being theoretical only if they cannot be implemented properly. In order to successfully implement a concept in urban planning, it is important to understand the people as well. It is important to know their needs as it is they who ultimately utilise the space. Paris has been able to create opportunities in each district for residents to take part in neighbourhood-scale planning. Barcelona aims to achieve this concept through the creation of super districts. Shanghai has plans for making 15-minute community life circles. Portland, USA aims to achieve a 20-minute city model as part of its climate action plan.
Criticism
While the idea of the 15-minute city seems to solve all the problems and only leads to a better lifestyle, there have been multiple criticisms surrounding this concept. While taking inspiration from Paris, the UK has also started the 15-minute city agenda but was met with a lot of conspiracy theories. Many people on the internet have claimed that the 15-minute city concept is the government’s way of eliminating cars and confining people to one cluster. Many had likened it to a dystopian movie. It is important to understand that while the 15-minute city concept relies on walking and bicycling as transportation modes to improve health by promoting exercise and decreasing air pollution. It in no way oppresses the use of cars. It is merely that the use of cars would become less and a more equitable society would be presented to people.
It is also important to keep in mind that there is never a one solution that fits all situations. The concept does not solve all the issues. It is important that there should be a mix of economic and social statuses within each neighbourhood or else it would be a matter of time before gentrification happens across the city and each cluster would be of different economic status. Context is very important while implementing the concept and perhaps it would not suit every city in the world out there.
References:
- Ritchie, H., Samborska, V. and Roser, M. (2024) Urbanization, Our World in Data. Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization#:~:text=How%20many%20people%20live%20in,world%20lives%20in%20urban%20settings. (Accessed: 07 July 2024).
- Yellow, S. (no date) Revolutionising urban living with the 15-Minute City, 2Future Holding – Meet The Future. Available at: https://www.2future.co/post/15minute-city#:~:text=The%2015%2DMinute%20City%20concept,needs%20within%20a%20short%20walk. (Accessed: 05 July 2024).
- Yellow, S. (no date) Revolutionising urban living with the 15-Minute City, 2Future Holding – Meet The Future. Available at: https://www.2future.co/post/15minute-city#:~:text=The%2015%2DMinute%20City%20concept,needs%20within%20a%20short%20walk. (Accessed: 06 July 2024).
- Schauenberg, T. (2023) 15-minute cities: What are they and how do they work? – DW – 03/15/2023, dw.com. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/15-minute-cities-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-work/a-64907776 (Accessed: 05 July 2024).
- Gongadze, S. and Maassen, A. (2023) Paris’ vision for a ‘15-Minute City’ sparks a global movement, World Resources Institute. Available at: https://www.wri.org/insights/paris-15-minute-city (Accessed: 04 July 2024).
- 15-Minute City (no date) Deloitte. Available at: https://www.deloitte.com/cbc/en/Industries/government-public/perspectives/urban-future-with-a-purpose/15-minute-city.html (Accessed: 06 July 2024).
