15-minute city: An attractive project by a Sorbonne professor

Have you ever wished that shopping, entertainment, education, health care, and the workplace were all at your doorstep? However, such a plan has been devised by Carlos Moreno, a professor at Sorbonne University. Moreno’s ’15 Minute City ‘is a project where residents can meet their daily needs on foot within 15-minute radius of their homes.

Whether you want to go to the park, go to the hospital or send the kids to school, everything will be much easier now. Everything you need will be within a 15-minute radius of your homes.

Prof. Moreno envisions a more decentralised city as a networks of neighbourhood where individuals can connect and support. He does not want to be divided into shopping districts, residential districts, and business districts. Mr. Moreno argues that big cities do not have to be faceless behemoths if they can be turned into functioning communities. He also hopes to reduce carbon emissions by cutting travel and car ownership.

Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has already promised €350m to create “a bike lane on every street” and to pedestrianise yet more of Paris, while abolishing 60,000 parking spaces.

The 15-minute city has become an idea around which civic leaders can rally – from London to Milan, Barcelona to Detroit.

Meanwhile, Milanese Mayor Giuseppe Sala announced plans in April to “offer services and quality of life within the space of 15 minutes on foot from home.”

Not all city dwellers need a community-led life, nor can they work from home. But Prof. Moreno’s 15 Minutes City is a set of principles that undermine city life, making the metropolis a quiet and healthy place for all.