In Spring 2020, when I first heard about the 15-minute city concept, my family and I were living in Örebro. I had a lightbulb moment as the concept described our daily reality in this central Swedish city. It was also a reality that I had often reflected was very ‘livable’ and practical for myself and my family, capturing the essence of great urban living at the neighborhood scale.
The map below documents my spatial behavior and relationship to this city during our time there. The map reflects what I would call the ‘core’ daily (or mostly daily) needs.
At some point I did acknowledge, well, it’s not really shocking that I experience a 15-minute city lifestyle. I lived in the heart of a well-planned and walkable Nordic city. So the test, I thought, regarding the spatial equity of the concept locally was checking out suburban connectivity and amenities.
I began to test out walkable (and bikeable) routes to suburbs and also began a survey in which I aimed to survey diverse residents in different neighborhoods of the city core as well as diverse surrounding suburbs. I only got a handful of responses (I was not a PhD student at the time and was not surveying for any professional purposes but rather curiosity) but think the development is interesting.
If I were to return to study this, or other, cities from the 15-minute city perspective, I would continue with the survey approach and also ensure that diverse generations and groups across neighborhoods were included. In fact such a survey was part of my fieldwork approach for my dissertation in Warsaw, Poland (more on that at the end of the post.
15-Minute City Realities: Map
Lived Experience: Myself and my Family
*At the time I was a stay-at-home mother with part-time remote work
• HOME
• GROCERIES: 1 minute // There were multiple other grocery stores within a 15-minute walk but this was our main one.
• PRESCHOOL: 13 minutes // Both my children were preschool-age at the time & went to the same school. Very occasionally we took the bus (which took just a few minutes less time total) but usually walked.
• BUS STATION: 1 minute // A major central bus station (by the city castle). For our first couple years or so, I only occasionally used the bus. Our last year there we relied on it regularly to take my son to school in the suburbs. My husband worked in the industrial area & had an approximately 15-minute commute by bus
• PLAYGROUND: 9 minutes // There were multiple playgrounds within a 15-minute walk but this was our main one
• PARK: 9 minutes // There were multiple parks within a 15-minute walk but this was our main one
• EXERCISE: 9 minutes // I used the whole city space to exercise but this nature island was a go-to public space for my fitness & also the closest outdoor gym
• DINING: 5 minutes // My go-to place for occasional lunch out was here. However many other options existed in the city within a 15-minute walk.
• HOSPITAL: 6 minutes // Note: our regular clinic was a 15-minute walk away (not on the map)
• TRAIN: 6 minutes // Main train station which was also a main bus station
*Many more dining & shopping options existed within a 15-minute walk that we would access on more of a once per week or biweekly basis.
For my PhD dissertation fieldwork, I organized 19 workshops around the city of Warsaw and deployed a few surveys, including one that was completely focused on the 15-minute city. More on that to come in research papers and publications (in development!)
As I write this post, I also recall my first fieldwork interview in Warsaw with a disability advocate who shared how fond he is of the 15-minute city concept. He explained that even a simple round of neighborhood errands can be very exhausting, so having diverse amenities and services nearby can have a really significant and positive impact on his quality of life.
As I type this, I also reflect on my first (known) COVID illness last month. While I was pretty much laid out for just under a week with a positive test result and the effects of the virus, a significant post-virus fatigue (which lasted for about 2 weeks) really impacted my stamina and mobility. During this time, I had even renewed appreciation for our proximity (now in an urban neighborhood in Warsaw) to amenities we need on the most regular basis.
Visit the link below to see some images from my dissertation urban lab approach in Warsaw which included 20 workshops, multiple interviews and surveying.
Above: As part of my current PhD research here in Warsaw, I have been surveying attendees to my fieldwork workshop. The above graph shows answers to the question: The 15/20 minute city or neighborhood is when inhabitants can meet their daily needs within a 15-20 minute walk or roll (cycle, wheelchair), in their community. Would you say that the neighborhood and/or district you live in fits this description?
Out of 170 respondents, 682% responded ‘Yes’, 5.9% respondend ‘No’, 24.7% responded ‘Somewhat’ and 1.2 % were ‘Uncertain’
Issues of spatial equity and quality of life are at the heart of my interest in the 15-minute city concept and related contemporary and historic urban planning paradigms and approaches. I look forward to continued work, research, and advocacy around these ideas that, when deployed with alertness to local community needs and awareness of geographic, climactic, cultural, and societal contexts can serve to benefit a great diversity of residents.
–Annika