Chapter 4. Findings and Synthesis: The Spatial form of FMC

Moreno in his proposal has promoted establishment of 15 minute ‘urban villages’ selfsufficient, which many experts claim as a recipe for creating segregation and exacerbate inequalities in the city. Furthermore, the proposal of Moreno lacks sufficient prescriptive elements to define the urban form of this 15 minute. We observed in chapter 2 that such a claim puts the already established scholarship in tension, challenging the existing urban spatial models on which cities are based on. The author then undertook empirical case studies to investigate the form of FMC cities to develop a better understanding about the spatial characteristics of ‘Fifteen Minute Cities’. The findings of cities suggest a strong acknowledgment to the themes of conflict put forward by various ‘critical voices’ (chapter 2), thus neutralizing the controversial debate around the components of accessibility forwarded through the ‘spatial’ proposal of FMC by Moreno.

From looking at the case studies, it can be concluded that the FMC is not a new ‘spatial planning concept’ as claimed by its proponents and is based on traditional conception of neighbourhood unit (as defined in the Principles of New Urbanism). Section 4.1 narrates the findings regarding the FMC rhetoric by drawing a comparison with Moreno’s proposition. Section 4.2 furthers on the focus of this study, the ‘spatial form of FMC’, by observing the common strategies of ‘urban form’ the three cities have mobilised to create proximity at

city level.