Fear not the 15 Minute City

Urban Planning is in the news! I repeat, urban planning is in the news!! ‘Big Planning’ has created the 15 Minute City and apparently we (urban planners) are coming for your cars and your freedom…apparently.

But fear not, the core tenants of the 15 Minute City promote freedom and establish cities that remove the necessity for private vehicles, whilst understanding they are a part of urban life in many towns and cities. 

So what is a 15 Minute City?

The 15 minute city (often referred to as the 10, 15 or 20 Minute Neighbourhood) is not a new concept. In the 1960s, the godmother of town planning Jane Jacobs strove to ensure neighbourhoods could provide essential services and work opportunities within ‘neighbourhood hearts’, reducing car dependency within our cities and promoting accessible city neighbourhoods that serve the needs of its people. 

The concept was been ushered into the design of planning policy in Melbourne by Danish urbanist Jan Gehl through the 1990s following his ‘Places for People’ report and from this the ‘20 minute neighbourhood’ concept was established and shapes Melbourne’s urban planning strategy for 2017-2050, Plan Melbourne.

Plan Melbourne outlines six key hallmarks: 

1. Safe, accessible and well-connected for pedestrians and cyclists to optimise active transport

2. High-quality public realm and open spaces

3. Provide services and destinations that support local living

4. Facilitate access to quality public transport that connects people to jobs and higher order services

5. Deliver housing/population at densities that make local services and transport viable

6. Facilitate thriving local economies. 

Recently, these basic concepts have been misconstrued by elements of the media to mean “THEY ARE COMING FOR OUR CARS!!” when the intended aim is to create neighbourhoods where we don't need cars to safely and efficiently access our jobs, schools, shops and parks.

These policies aim to deliver on each 15 minute city with each hallmark, but this is a near impossible task to achieve in the real world. They instead establish a framework that allows cities and neighbourhoods to identify gaps in the distribution of services and amenities within cities, and allow government to plan how they will fill these gaps moving forward through planning strategies, regulation and project development. 

Big Planning Conspiracies - The 15 Minute Prison

Rumours are swirling around the internet that 15 Minute Cities are being established to contain and prohibit movement entirely and enclose residents to their 15 Minute city. A quick search of “15 Minute Cities” will lead you to a plethora of videos, articles and podcasts touting that 15 Minute Cities will only act as ‘15 Minute Prisons’ and that urban planners along with the World Economic Forum are aiming to use the policy to control the population.

The key fear is that this policy will be used to divide cities into 15 minute zones, whereby residents who have access to the six key hallmarks outlined above will not be able to travel outside of their zone, with comparisons being made to the districts established in the Hunger Games. 

So what is happening in Oxford, England?

At the heart of the concern over the 15 Minute City idea is the deliberate and innocent confusion over two separate policies being proposed by two separate levels of Government.

• Policy 1: Oxfordshire County Council’s Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan 

  • Objective: To reduce unnecessary journeys by private cars and make walking, cycling, public and shared transport the natural first choice.

  • Strategy: Introduce traffic filters to reduce traffic levels in Oxford by targeting unnecessary journeys by cars. Residents will be able to apply for permits (up to 100 per year) to drive through the non-physical traffic filters, but will be subject to fines for passing through without a permit during the restricted times.

• Policy 2: Oxford City Council’s Oxford Local Plan 2040

  • Objective: The vision in 2040 is that Oxford will be a healthy and inclusive city, with strong communities that benefit from equal opportunities for everyone, not only in housing, but also to nature, to employment, social and leisure opportunities and to healthcare

  • Strategy: Provide support and add services that aim to ensure that every resident has all the essentials (shops, healthcare, parks) within a 15-minute walk of their home.

In practice, the policy aims to provide residents of Oxford with the ability to access essential services and amenities that are within a 15-20 minute walk or ride of your home. Increasing service availability and distribution while removing the requirement for car ownership to be able to access these services.

You can read the joint statement prepared by Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council on Oxford’s traffic filters proposal here.

My Reality of a 15 Minute City

I want to live in a neighbourhood where I can ride to work and walk the local supermarket. I want to be able to wander to my local park after work to have a beer in the sun with my mates without the need to drive or uber. I want to be able to afford to live near my workplace and be close to a local library and restaurants. I want a city made up of neighbourhoods with different atmospheres, all easily accessible by public transport. 

My 15 minute neighbourhood doesn't need everything, but it’s nice if it has enough services that allow me to not own a car because most things are a 15 minute walk away and not a 30 minute cross town dive. The urban planners I know are not in it to have power over the community, we do it to help communities thrive.

Fear not the 15 minute city, it is here to help, not hinder.