I recently finished the book ‘The 15-Minute City: A Solution to Saving Our Time & Our Planet’ by Carlos Moreno.
As a person who spent many years on the planet being completely car-dependent in several communities I lived in, as well as had the experience of living in several communities where I had a very walkable, local lifestyle, I was very intrigued when I first heard about the 15-minute city concept in early 2020.
I began to study my own spatial behavior and memories of the communities I lived in via this lens, and now, 5 years later, am working on my PhD dissertation papers based on fieldwork conducted in Warsaw in 2023, exploring the barriers and best practices of walkable urbanism via a 15-minute city lens.
Moreno writes: “In the realm of geographic studies, space has often been the primary focal point, be in terms of land use, infrastructure, or architectural aesthetics. However, an equally compelling dimension, often relegated to the backdrop, is that of time. Urban environments are not just spatial entities; they pulsate with temporal rhythms, from daily commute and business hours to seasonal festivals and generational changes.”
The book is very engaging and also includes chapters focusing on examples of the concept being adapted in diverse local contexts around the world including Cleveland (USA), Busan (South Korea), Milan (Italy), Melbourne (Australia), Paris (France), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sousse (Tunisia) and more.
Chapter 11 ‘Paris and the Global Rise of the 15-Minute City‘ in particular had my mental juices going.
The chapter begins during the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 with a focus on the situation on the ground in Paris. I was transported to our life in central Sweden at the time and also to, later that Spring, learning about the 15-minute city concept for the first time and connecting it with my own ‘lived experience’ on the ground.
It was around this time that I founded Pedestrian Space to document barriers and best practices to walkable urbanism as I observed them. That Spring, I soon began to also ‘cover’ the 15-minute city as a lived experience via my activities at Pedestrian Space
Fast forward to Spring 2024 when, I was welcomed to give a talk on the 15-minute city at the EYL40 European Young Leaders Spring Session in Paris. This was an incredibly dynamic group to be able to engage with, and we kicked off the talk with a Slido survey, asking ‘What is your level of familiarity with the 15-minute city concept?’
Of the 29 participants:
•10% responded ‘I am extremely familiar with the concept & working with it in my community’
•14% responded ‘I am well-read on the concept’
•48% responded ‘I have some awareness of the concept but could learn more’
•28% responded ‘I have never heard of it before
The title of the session was called ‘From Commutes to Communities: the transformative power of 15-minute cities’ during which I was also able to share the official Chaire ETI – IAE Paris Sorbonne School 15mC graphic of ‘the ontological model’s six social functions’ of Living, Caring, Learning, Enjoying, Working & Supplying’
During the 2nd half of the meeting, we went on a metro ride and walk in which we were guided on a city-immersive adventure to Parc Clichy-Batignolles – Martin Luther King, a park in the 17th arrondissement explained in Chapter 11 of ‘The 15-Minute City Book’ as a ‘radical site transformation’ and a ‘park that promotes connectivity and urban cohesion, combining housing, workspaces, public facilities and green spaces, while respecting environmental and quality of life issues’.
In the book ‘The 15-Minute City’, Moreno urges the forging of ‘a new vision of urban life, one that helps us ‘to restore useful time, social time, and local interaction to the heart of our cities’.
Here’s to vibrant local life! Explore more on 15-minute city coverage at the link below!
https://pedestrianspace.org/category/15-20-minute-city/
-Annika