15-Minute Cities: Creating Neighbourhoods That Offer Easy Access and Comfort By Pravin Kothari, Founder and Managing Director – Laxmileela Group
In the past few years, the idea of the 15-minute city has caught the attention of city planners, architects, and policymakers. Professor Carlos Moreno first made this concept popular. This urban planning approach aims to build cities where people can reach all their essential needs—jobs, schools, healthcare, stores, and leisure activities—within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from where they live.
The concept goes beyond pure simplicity. It rethinks city life prioritizing residents’ needs over cars in community design.
Heart of the 15-Minute City
The 15-minute city stands on four main principles:
1. Proximity: Folks have essential services within a short walk from where they dwell.
2. Diversity: All areas offer a blend of housing, workplaces, and handy spots.
3. Wise Expansion: Intelligent design of tight zones leads to bustling neighbourhoods you can navigate on foot.
4. Balanced Distribution: Neighbourhoods share amenities and systems.
Rather than letting cities stretch, this approach advocates for dense multi-use zones cutting dependence on vehicles, enhancing resident lifestyles.
Why It’s Super Important Today
Nowadays, with folks stressing about climate shifts, jam-packed urban areas, and brain well-being, the idea of a 15-minute city presents us a nature-friendly choice over traditional urban designs. Such areas slash the time we spend moving around and encourage us to walk or bike, which has an influence on reducing carbon release, boosts our health, and tightens the bond between folks living next door.
Think about this: you can buy food, take your kid to school, work at a shared office space, and go to a yoga class—without ever needing a car. That’s the kind of life you can have in a 15-minute city.
Real-World Examples Around the Globe
Cities like Paris, Melbourne, and Bogotá have started to put into action different versions of the 15-minute city model. In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo leads the charge to change the city’s streets. Her goal? To give priority to people walking and biking. This means taking space from cars to create places for the community to gather and green areas to enjoy.
The concept is catching on in India too. As urban populations grow fast, cities such as Bengaluru, Pune, and Ahmedabad are looking into development that focuses on neighbourhoods. They’re counting on it to cut down on traffic snarls and overburdened infrastructure.
Obstacles and Points to Ponder
So, the idea’s pretty awesome yet pulling it off ain’t a walk in the park:
• Zoning Norms: Many places have these outdated zoning regulations that separate homes, stores, and industrial zones.
• Fairness: Gotta makes sure every neighbourhood, and I mean the ones without a ton of cash too, get the same shot at perks and chances to get places.
• Getting Everyone Onboard: Shaking things up can get messy. You need to get people in on the convo and lay out the plans super clear.
What’s Next
The whole “live, work, play in 15 minutes” deal? Well, it isn’t a cookie-cutter thing. You’ve got tweak it to fit the local vibe, weather, and money talks. But hey, the main point is all about setting up cities for peeps, not just their rides, and that’s pretty much a golden idea everywhere.
Facing a future that prioritizes toughness, eco-friendliness, and quality of living, the “15-minute city” shines as a promising light. It encourages us to picture, not improved urban areas, but also enhanced ways of life.