The 15 minute city
The 15-minute city isn’t a new concept.
The idea was first popularised by Colombian urbanist and mathematician Carlos Moreno in the mid-2010s. Arguably the concept itself goes back even further to the work of Jane Jacobs in the 1960s. However old the concept, it’s only recently that it’s become a subject of controversy and conspiracy.
With the rise of the right-wing across the globe, from MAGA and the Alt-right across the pond to continental Europe and the recent riots in the UK, the discourse has become radical, provocative and bloated with fake news. In amongst disinformation campaigns on vaccines, stolen elections and secret cabals controlling the world from inside the World Economic Forum, the 15-minute city has (perhaps surprisingly) seen its fair share of conspiracy theorising.
In this short blog, I wanted to look at the concept of the 15-minute city and the reputational bushwhacking it’s taken in the last few years. Hopefully, by the end, we’ll be able to clear away the stink of conspiracy, highlight the facts and move forward with the concept in a helpful way.
Image courtesy of Experience Magazine
https://expmag.com/2021/09/this-german-neighborhood-has-everything-except-cars/
Social media – the conspiracy theorist's best friend
Why is the far right on the rise?
Miles of newspaper column inches and a seemingly infinite universe of political podcasts have debated the causes of this and one thing seems to stand out: social media.
The harnessing of mass media for political advantage is nothing new but without the usual filters of editorial (and even factual reporting), people are free to say, write and broadcast whatever they want to the world via platforms like X, Facebook and Telegram. This, coupled with the algorithms used to run these programs, means that if not careful, those of any political persuasion can quickly find themselves disappearing into an echo chamber of global proportions.
It’s no surprise then that conspiracy theories (and those who peddle them) are now a near-constant feature of everyday social media life.
So powerful is the rise of the conspiracy theory that they’ve even made headway into the realm of urban planning. Before getting stuck into what these conspiracy theories say, let's take a look at the facts.
The 15-minute city - Just the facts
The idea is, in essence, very simple: design urban space so that residents’ key needs are met by facilities located within a 15-minute walk or cycle.
The previously mentioned Moreno prescribed amenities such as healthcare, education, grocery shops, leisure and green space to be within the 15-minute radius in addition to places to work and live. On a mass scale, this would create an interconnected series of decentralised centres rather than the traditional monocentric city centre and sprawl model which is the predominant feature of Western cities.
By shifting the focus to a local level, 15-minute cities encourage community interactions and imbue residents with a greater sense of place, equality and, ideally, civic pride. Ultimately, however, the driving force behind the concept is climate change. Decentralised, walkable communities reduce the reliance on car travel and the infrastructure which enables it. The 15-minture city model also raises the density of the urban landscape which reduces the amount of developable land required and cuts down on the volume of infrastructure required.
What’s not to like?
Well, somehow, this concept has attracted the attention of conspiracy theorists.
Don your tin foil hat and get ready to think like a space cadet.
Image courtesy of Dezeen
https://www.dezeen.com/2020/11/19/barcelona-eixample-masterplan-streets-green-space/
What the conspiracists have to say
Emerging during the tail-end of the COVID-19 pandemic, criticisms of the concept started to emanate from the darker corners of the internet. Rumours about the banning of cars and the pedestrian-centric nature of the idea quickly ballooned into frantic comments about citizens being locked into ghettos and subjected to a kind of Truman Show meets Escape From New York existence.
If ever there was a case of 2 and 2 being calculated to produce 5 then this was it. The problem with this interpretation was that it was allowed to go unchallenged and, even more bizarrely, was picked up and trumpeted by elements of the far right in America who linked it to a broader conspiracy known as ‘The Great Reset’.
Conspiracy theories in mainstream politics
Not wanting to be seen to be outdone by their transatlantic cousins, British conspiracy theorists singled out a planned ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) in Oxford as the vanguard policy which would usher in a series of steps to restrict personal liberties - most important of which was the right to drive wherever and whenever a person wanted.
The protests against the Oxford ULEZ were significant enough to attract the attention of Conservative MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher, who spoke in Parliament and asked the Government to hold a debate on, “the international socialist concept of so-called 15-minute cities and 20-minute neighbourhoods”. He went on to state (in Parliament remember) that “15-minute cities will cost us our personal freedom”.
It wasn’t just the backbenchers though who were out for 15-minute cities. The former Transport Minister Mark Harper, who used his speech at the 2023 Conservative Party Conference to suggest that there was a ‘sinister’ use of the 15-minute city concept by some councils to, “decide how often you go to the shops, and… ration who uses the road and when”. Moreover, the Department for Transport’s official policy paper ‘The Plan for Drivers’ published in the same month as Mr Harper’s speech, stated that the government would, “…explore options to stop local councils using so-called “15-minute cities” …to police people’s lives”.
The Tory war on the 15-minute city was mercifully short-lived with both Fletcher and Harper losing their seats in the last election but their adoption and ready repetition of conspiracy theories highlights the sway that such ideas have in the digital age.
Conspiracies aside, is the concept of the 15-minute cities a winner?
So, is the 15-minute city a panacea for all the West’s ills? Probably not.
As lofty as the 15-minute cities goals are, it’s a concept which relies on an awful lot of buy-in from companies and individuals who have a vested interest in the status quo. 15-minute cities tend towards a diverse mix of urban typologies and residents which is often an uneconomical form of development for the volume house builders who provide the vast majority of the UK’s housing stock.
Although a small area compared to suburban sprawl, masterplanning for a 15-minute city, particularly within an existing urban context, requires local authorities to exert a level of control over the process which many private landowners would not welcome. As we’ve seen from the Oxford example, top-down imposition of development can be construed as state control and requires a deft hand when consulting the communities affected.
Despite the ravings of the conspiracy theorists, there is probably an element of the population, particularly private homeowners but also small businesses, who would feel aggrieved at the idea of surrendering some of their car comforts and freedoms. The two-story detached suburban home is popular and has been for decades so why rock the boat?
It’s not a binary choice between all 15-minute cities or none at all.
We don’t have to simply do away with the concept completely because it doesn’t work in every setting. There’s still room to adopt some of the concepts of the 15-minute city, particularly in newer developments.
In my own small corner of Sheffield, I’m lucky enough to live in a neighbourhood which has organically developed into a 15-minute city. When my family and I moved to the city 6 years ago we opted to buy a new build house on the boundary between city and suburb. The area has a small high street with a Post Office, Chip Shop, baker, pubs and hairdressers, all of this within 5 minutes of the house and a large park beyond with a range of sporting and recreation facilities.
A retail park containing two supermarkets, a gym, a nursery, a coffee shop and fast food outlets is close by meaning that grocery shopping can be done without the need of a car. A primary, and secondary school are a 10-minute walk in the other direction and a public library would probably be within 15 minutes (but not when you take into account Sheffield’s hills…).
My 15-minute city is not perfect, there is a lack of independent shops and the local gyms/swimming pools are privately owned rather than local authority operated, but I am very grateful to have all of this within such easy reach of my doorstep.
The 15 minute city on John's doorstep
The bottom line
The 15-minute city is one of those ideas which is, when explained to most people, a sensible idea. The fact that it has been seen as such a revolutionary development in urban design perhaps shows us how far removed the Human as a participatory agent has become from urban design in the last 70 years.
Forward-thinking and canny local authorities could ‘seed’ facilities into the existing urban fabric which would allow 15-minute cities to flourish organically as they have done in my area of Sheffield and this could help to break down the barrier between town and suburb and reduce our dependency on the car.
Having a shop, park, gym and school within easy walking distance has to be a good thing, tin-foil hat or not.
Written by project architect, John McSeveney
