“15-minute cities” have received a boost after the corona pandemic

The definition of a “15-minute city” means that residents are within a 15-minute walk or bike ride of everything they need to live a good life, according to the analysis, published in the journal Nature Cities this week.

The concept of a 15-minute city received wide attention during the corona pandemic, when the closures clearly emphasized the importance of the local environment and the neighbourhood.

Since then, the concept has been embraced by many mayors and city planners worldwide. But it has also been the subject of grim conspiracy theories.

10,000 cities have been analysed

Now Italian researchers have studied the phenomenon. They created an online database in which around 10,000 cities globally were analysed. The researchers used open sources to map how far citizens have to walk or cycle to get to various services, such as shops, restaurants, education, training and healthcare.

– Many people already live in a 15-minute city, concludes co-author of the study, Hygor Piaget Monteiro Melo.

– But it may depend on where you live in the city. There are often large differences in access to services between the center and the outskirts, he points out.

Population density

The researchers point out that population density is a decisive factor. If enough people live close enough, it is much easier for them to have easy access to services. In other words, big cities.

– Many European cities have an advantage because they were built centuries ago, in a time before cars – and in a time when all cities were practically 15-minute cities, the researchers point out.

Cities built more recently, with cars in mind, do far worse. This applies not least to the United States.

– Paris is far ahead because the mayor embraced the concept early on – and because a significant part of the city was already within a limit of 15 minutes, says lead author Matteo Bruno to the AFP news agency.

The Italian city of Milan and the Spanish city of Barcelona are also well located due to population density and infrastructure.

Bad in China and USA

Several Chinese cities, such as Chonquing, are far from being able to define themselves as a 15-minute city.

Many American cities struggle with the concept of the 15-minute. Neither Atlanta nor Los Angeles can boast of having an infrastructure that makes it easy for pedestrians to get to various services.

– Americans in sprawling cities usually have their own houses and backyards, while Europeans in densely populated cities tend to live in apartments. It illustrates the important role of culture, emphasizes Bruno, who is a researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratories in Rome.

– But when it comes to cities, there is always a question of compromise – and there is no conclusion, the researchers point out.

No utopia

Bruno says that 15-minute cities are often presented as a utopia.

– They are not, he says.

Even several American cities are within the 15-minute limit. Like central parts of New York, San Francisco and Milwaukee.

– Manhattan is definitely one of the most “15-minute places” in the world, says Bruno.

Oslo

Oslo does not appear in the part of the study that is freely available online.

But in Oslo municipality’s plan for 2040, the focus is on densification from the inside out. It is a stated policy to build close to public transport points, so that it is easy to move around by foot, bicycle and public transport, says the municipality’s website.

If you ask ChatGPT if Oslo is a 15-minute city, the answer is: “All in all, Oslo has parts that resemble a 15-minute city, but there are still challenges, especially in less central districts, which prevent the whole city from achieving this the goal in full”.

Conspiracies

Bruno states that the 15-minute concept has been the subject of many conspiracy theories.

Some online groups, including vaccine and climate skeptics, have claimed, among other things, that 15-minute cities are part of a secret plan to limit citizens’ freedom of movement.

The Italian researchers, who have themselves become targets of online hate speech, emphasize that nothing about the 15-minute city concept is about limiting someone’s freedom.

– The 15-minute target is just one element in the “recipe” for a good city. Other parts of the recipe include tackling inequalities and segregation and improving public transport, he emphasises.