World Economic Forum
substituted physical proximity – the raison d’être of large cities – with digital proximity, so it is natural to wonder if we can justify people agglomerating when a proportion of people can work remotely, with better quality of life and the same level of productivity.” Moreno’s model is a new way of framing an old idea: that the size and scope of cities has an alienating effect on people. The idea of creating neighbourhoods within sprawling metropolitan areas harks back to a time when people knew and depended on their neighbours. It suggests that connection with other human beings is a fundamental element in a person’s well-being, and that tipping the balance back towards the local community will bring people together. The opposite is equally true. As one 2021 research paper found, air pollution caused by urban sprawl can increase oxidative stress and systemic inflammatory responses in humans, directly contributing to depression, cognitive dysfunction and even brain damage. The same paper also showed that any increase in the urban sprawl index – a measure combining global urban extent and global population density data – is associated with higher incidence of disease and depression. Four key elements, at any rate, underpin this rebalancing towards making cities work for us. The first is local ecology, creating green and sustainable cities. The second is proximity, with retail, education and other amenities close at hand. The third is solidarity, creating stronger links between people to build more inclusive cities. Lastly comes participation, the idea that citizens should be involved in planning and shaping their local environment. “This is the matrix of high-quality societal life,” Moreno argues. “It prioritises local economy and commerce, decentralised places for working with digital technologies, access to medical services for mental and physical health, education, culture and much more.”
From ideas to action
Many cities are already implementing the 15-minute city concept, with Paris perhaps the shining example. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has pushed for progressive urban design to increase proximity, sustainability and inclusivity through the ‘Paris en Mouvement’ plan. Already one of the world’s most Instagrammable cities, Paris is aiming to make its cobbled streets and rambling boulevards even more beautiful. Reducing car traffic in the city centre, creating more bike lanes, and making public transportation more accessible are all moves intended to reduce pollution, noise and congestion – and ultimately make the City of Light even more serene and picturesque. Imagine, for a moment, a stroll along the banks of the Seine without the noise of passing cars.
Madrid is adopting similar urban planning principles to reduce air pollution and create a more liveable city, as are Milan, Mexico City, Sousse in Tunisia, and
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Pleszew in Poland, among many other towns. In the UK, for its part, the Scottish Parliament recently voted for a new 20-minute neighbourhood framework to promote local living in healthy, sustainable and resilient places to improve residents’ quality of life and reduce the country’s environmental impact. Even the US, a country infamous for urban sprawl, is moving in a similar direction. “Cleveland, Ohio, which is a majority black city with a young black mayor, has put out a 15-minute city plan,” notes Chamberlain. “It is not a big city, so it is more workable to apply those principles, and I like that they have not shied away from calling it a 15-minute city despite some of the conspiracy theories.”
The contagion of conspiracy As Chamberlain says, the 15-minute city concept has spawned many conspiracy theories. Though not expressed explicitly, it intends to reduce car dependency – which some have understood as a ban on people using their cars as they wish. Car use is a sensitive issue. Recent traffic-calming measures in Oxford in the UK led to heated protests, with some claiming they are the first step towards fully fledged ‘climate lockdowns’, in which people will not be allowed to travel outside their local neighbourhood. Instead, some worried that people would be trapped in ghettos by authorities using the excuse of limiting emissions and combating climate change. The notion stems from Covid lockdowns, during which global greenhouse gas emissions began to decline. Other extreme views have dogged Moreno’s brainchild as well. Critics – including a UK Conservative MP who called the idea “an international socialist concept” that would threaten the integrity of British cities – have hinted at the rise in surveillance culture that could follow in the wake of trapping people in their local communities. Some naysayers have even suggested that electronic gates would soon appear across roads to confine residents and make them easier to control. At the same time,
A map of Cleveland from the City Planning Commission’s 15-minute study indicating areas in the city that are prime candidates for transit- oriented development.
12.1%
National Bureau of Economic Research
40%
The percentage by which injuries to city walkers by cars can be reduced via pedestrianisation.
City Changers 15
The percentage of American city dwellers that typically take journeys within a 15-minute walk from their homes.
Cleveland Planning Commission
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