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15-minuTe ciTy
Figure 60
mosT urBan environmenTs in europe aT leasT were Based on The idea of The 15-minuTe ciTy, in ThaT iT was possiBle To walk across Their cenTres in ThaT Time BuT ThinGs chanGed when urBan desiGn Became car focused.
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Before covid-19 people spenT mosT of The Time in ‘two 15-minute villaGes’ , The one where they work anD the one where they live. ciTies will move away from Their currenT role as larGe employmenT cenTres surrounded By dispersed residenTial communiTies. insTead as employers re-purpose and, in many insTances, downsize Their offices and more hiGh sTreeT sTores Become vacanT, There will Be an increasinG shifT Towards ciTy-cenTre livinG.
aT The same Time, ameniTies, which include co-workinG spaces, will improve markedly in The suBurBs, wiTh people choosinG To live in one environmenT or The oTher, dependinG on Their preference and life sTaGe. This siTuaTion will Go hand in hand wiTh a shifT in The TradiTional office funcTionxxiii .
replacinG lonG commutes anD car-first transit with Bikes anD walkinG woulD slash vehicle emissions, increase resiDent health anD free up roaDs anD parkinG spaces for other uses.
paris is aiminG for a 15-min ciTy. oTher places pursuinG The 15- or 20-minuTe-ciTy concepT include: melBourne (which adopTed a lonG-Term sTraTeGic plan for 20-minuTe neiGhBourhoods), deTroiT (which orGanised a 20-minuTe-ciTy concepT around iTs defuncT sTreeT car Grid), porTland (whose compleTe neiGhBourhood concepT plans for 90% of The ciTy To have “safe and convenienT access To The Goods and services needed in daily life”) and oTTawa (which launched a 15-minuTe-neiGhBourhood plan To have residenTs Take half Their Trips By fooT, Bicycle, puBlic TransiT or By carpoolinG). DurinG coviD-19, where lock-Downs are frequent locals
have reDiscovereD their immeDiate neiGhBourhooDs.
To Build a 15-minuTe ciTy: - more neiGhBourhood schools - BeTTer food access - more “Third places ” - BeTTer housinG access and more housinG - improved walk aBiliTy - seeinG densiTy as more Than JusT addinG hiGh-rises - looseninG reGulaTions ThaT sTand in The way of more-creaTive, communiTy-cenTric urBan desiGn. xxiv
