Where the ‘15-Minute City’ Falls Short
Urban experts warn that a popular post-pandemic design principle may not translate well from Europe to North America, and could exacerbate inequality.
Street changes such as bike lanes have been a central part of advancing the urban planning idea known as the “15-minute city” in several European cities including Barcelona. But critics warn that the concept may not adapt well to the North American context.
Photographer: Maria Contreras CollThe idea of a “15-minute city,” in which residents live within a short walk or bike ride of all their daily needs has been embraced by many mayors around the world during the global pandemic as a central planning tenet.
But there are dangers of applying a model conceived in Europe to many North American cities, some urban experts warn. Transplanting the 15-minute city template across the Atlantic could be “presumptive and colonial” said Toronto-based urban designer and thinker Jay Pitter at the CityLab 2021 conference, hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute.