Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability: Special Issue Call for papers
Spatial, Environmental & Social Dimensions: The 15-Minute City
Editors: Annika Lundkvist & Veronica Saud
info@pedestrianspace.org
veronica.saud@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr
Today, several critical urban scenarios (e.g. climate change or pandemics) have also offered unique opportunities to visualise and rethink cities, specifically in relation to disparities in access to different social needs in different contexts worldwide.
Thus, contemporary urban challenges have also highlighted the need to develop integrated urban perspectives in addressing the process of change to create better living conditions for all people. Based on the fundamentals of the 15-minute city framework (see Moreno, 2016; Moreno et al. 2021), significant progress has been made in revisiting different urban contemporary challenges in a holistic approach. Indeed, under the notions of diversity, proximity, density and digitalisation, and prioritising active travel, contemporary urban challenges have manifested the need to develop integrated urban perspectives when dealing with processes of change toward more sustainable and inclusive cities.
However, it is not just a simplification of distance, costs and time, rather it is a matter of understanding the diverse range of complexities in terms of the social issues involved, including organizational and institutional dimensions, comprising rationalities, decision-making, resources and capacities.
Beyond being a measure of time, a 15-minute city framework and its social dimensions have specifically accounted for the challenges in accessing basic essentials and the often scattered or difficult distribution to meet social needs, discussing urban relations in terms of diversity and proximity, closely linked to planning and public policy issues and the provision and distribution of accessibility.
Indeed, providing access to quality public green spaces, healthy food, affordable and convenient public transport, medical services, education, employment and leisure, implies not only understanding that these are factors of the built environment, but also cultural, social, environmental and economic factors, all of which are intrinsically linked. Moreover, as different groups of people require different types of access to meet all their basic needs as well as to carry out their valued activities, these issues pose important urban challenges for discussion nowadays.
With a focus on reducing car dependence, thus reducing fuel consumption and pollution, while promoting movement by foot and bicycle, the 15-minute city concept also offers a model for ‘human scale’ cities and a contribution to emissions reduction, crucial considering that over ‘60% of greenhouse gases globally are attributed to urban areas. Recovering a more holistic approach to urban living that is more considerate of the natural environments that support us is also critical within the re-envisioning of our use of space and urban development.
This SI invites contributors to rethink cities, searching for new perspectives on how to examine different social and spatial issues. In particular, this SI seeks to discuss the underpinning of social, spatial and environmental dimensions comprised in the 15-minute city principles to create links with the four fundamental pillars, inviting contributors to explore the distinctive features of different contexts, including but not not limited to: diverse geographies, climate and cultural perspectives, governance, institutional and civic concerns.
Different stages of discussion comprise this SI: ranging from the creation of new ideas, political discourses, to planning and implementation local agendas, as well as reflective academic arenas, and institutional and pedagogical perspectives.
This special issue welcomes research including but not limited to the following dimensions & key questions:
Dimension 1: Spatial Proximity Planning
- From what perspective can some proximity planning interventions be beneficial for some social groups, while having a negative impact on others, especially the most vulnerable? – Under what conditions can these disparities be addressed, considering the 15 min city principles?
- What kind of conditions and/or factors are positively influencing the perception of closer, fairer and more sustainable cities, considering different groups of people?
Dimension 2: Well-being & Quality of Life
- Which approaches succeed in linking accessibility to the four principles of the 15-minute city? – Under what conditions can proximity planning promote inclusive and resilient communities? – What are the relevant socio-cultural determinants that lead to improved or reduced accessibility, considering different groups of people and social needs?
Dimension 3: Governance & Urban Transitions
- How diverse critical urban scenarios (e.g. including but not limited to: climate change, war, ideologies, migration and pandemics) inform and inspire new approaches to reconfiguring the current urban landscape towards more accessible and sustainable cities, closer to diverse social needs?
- What lessons should we learn towards more just and resilient urban transitions through the lenses of 15-minute city principles?
- What are the pedagogical challenges to trigger critical thinking about the social and spatial challenges, particularly regarding the proximity planning and accessibility approach?
- What are the institutional and public policy challenges that need to be discussed and addressed towards more sustainable and inclusive cities?
- How to generate novel approaches and methods closer to social, environmental & spatial issues, in particular the challenges related to proximity planning and their links to accessibility?
Added value of the proposal: exposing the readership of the journal to global debate. The special issue welcomes in particular contributions from different contexts and regions.
Practical contributions from proximity planning to ODS worldwide as well as applied research (including policy recommendations and practical guidance) in underrepresented contexts and/or communities in the academic literature are welcomed.
We welcome research papers of approximately 7000 words on all or some of these and related themes as well as viewpoint pieces of 1500 words.
Submission Deadline: January 9, 2026
View full call here
“Supported by the GATES project (Grenoble ATtractiveness and ExcellenceS), funded by National Research Agency (ANR) under the France 2030 program with the reference ANR-22-EXES-0001”