Can Every City Be a 15-Minute City?

The idea of a "15-minute city" has gained a lot of attention recently. This concept envisions cities where you can reach essential services, like schools, stores, and parks, within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. While this idea is exciting and has started important conversations about how cities should be designed, it isn’t practical everywhere, and there are challenges with how it’s defined.

This research explores how close cities around the world are to meeting the 15-minute city ideal. By measuring how quickly you can access important services, it becomes clear that access varies widely both within and between cities. A big factor is how densely populated areas are.

An online tool (https://whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/) allows you to explore access scores for almost any city in the world. The research also examines how better planning and resource distribution could reduce inequalities in access. The results show significant differences in the number of extra services cities would need to meet the 15-minute city standard.

To make this concept work for more cities, it should be adapted to fit local conditions, including population density and cultural needs. Instead of focusing only on time, cities should also prioritize what you and others value most.

Bruno, M., Monteiro Melo, H.P., Campanelli, B. et al. A universal framework for inclusive 15-minute cities. Nat Cities 1, 633–641 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-024-00119-4

Building the Stayable City - Urban Design for Social Cohesion

Gao, T., Lim, S., Wong, D. K. H., & Schroepfer, T. (2024). From walking to staying: The impact of spatial qualities on socio-spatial segregation in innovation districts. Sustainable Cities and Society, 113, 105688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105688

From walking to staying: The impact of spatial qualities on socio-spatial segregation in innovation districts

This study explores how innovation districts, like One-north in Singapore, can drive urban economic growth while addressing socio-spatial segregation. It emphasizes designing public spaces to encourage "staying activities" (e.g., sitting, playing, relaxing) over transient activities like walking or cycling, to foster social interaction among diverse socioeconomic groups.

Using a GeoAI workflow that combines data analysis, machine learning, and AI, the researchers evaluate 13 spatial quality indicators and their impact on staying activities. A deep neural network (DNN) model with an 83.74% accuracy rate shows that these indicators can predict where people from different income groups engage in staying activities.

Interestingly, features like visual diversity and greenery—typically associated with good public spaces—do not always increase staying activities. Their effectiveness depends on the specific functional context and land-use type within different parts of the district.

This research highlights the importance of tailoring public space designs to local contexts to encourage meaningful interactions and reduce segregation. The proposed GeoAI workflow offers a proactive tool to evaluate design strategies before construction, helping policymakers create more inclusive urban environments.

Open Source Article