At the same time, those towns are hella compact, such that 90+% of residents can walk to pretty much any retailer or store or other resource within 15-20 minutes.
- Pandemics are a thing
- Families wanting nature and places in their backyard that kids can play
I think 15 minute cities are great if you have everything to back it up. All of the grocery stores and mini-box stores left downtown Seattle because a lot are work from home now. If people can work and live anywhere they want, they want nature. You need to have transit for that.
Edit: I’m trying to understand the downvotes, is this not being taught in urban planning? Is it just developers wanting to rent their spaces because their leases are closing out? Or is it naive people wanting to force their ideas without realizing humans are going to make decisions in the process as well? Super interesting thread.
One of the mistakes for which j think you are down voted is thinking you can’t have nature nearby if you live in a more dense cluster. Quite the opposite is true. People living in apartments 4 or 5 high leaves a lot more open space available for parks, playgrounds, etc. Suburban sprawl looking for “wanting nature and places in their backyard that kids can play” is exactly what destroys this space in cities in the first place…
I think 15 minute cities are great if you have everything to back it up.
The fifteen minute city is the infrastructure.
Right, so let’s say we do it, we have 15 minute cities everywhere and I want to see my aunt in Arizona, but I live in Seattle. Now what? How do you feel about motorcycles, electric bikes and scooters? Let’s say that I hate Amazon and want to keep small businesses in business, we don’t have that type of small business in my 15 minute city, do I bike 3 hours to the next one? Are you going to remake the economy?
You guys have to be trolling me, right? This is my last comment because I suspect you guys are.
- I think 15 minute cities are great, people should accommodate the people that want them
- The 15 minute cities won’t solve the corporation problem of hogging all of the resources and it seems like a distraction from them being the problem.
- You need transit, not everyone is 18-24, naive, and healthy with no kids
Good luck!
It sounds like you’re being deliberately obtuse, but just in case you’re genuine…
Cars simply weren’t a thing people had general access to before the 1950s and yet the economy and people did just fine. The huge majority of “getting around” that people need to do are going to work, going to school, shopping and entertainment. Do you really feel like having a 10 minute walk to work would be so hellish and dystopian? Wouldn’t it be nice if your kids could ask to go play in the park and they could just go 5 minutes down the road without you having to drive them? You could be a regular at that nice taco place down on the corner. You could buy more fresh produce if the grocery was across the street. If you do need to go to another city or go a farther distance, are you under the impression that people want to eliminate cars entirely? Cars are an amazing invention but the issue is over reliance, not their existence. By all means, drive or take a train an hour or two out of town but not everyone wants to have to drive to take their kids to school, sporting events or friends houses, or just to go grab food somewhere, or to see a movie, or all the other mundane daily trips that are part of every day life.
we have 15 minute cities everywhere and I want to see my aunt in Arizona, but I live in Seattle. Now what?
Take a plane, a train, or an automobile!
How do you feel about motorcycles, electric bikes and scooters?
I’m fine with them. I’d prefer that they stayed off sidewalks, but that’s my only real thought on them.
Let’s say that I hate Amazon and want to keep small businesses in business, we don’t have that type of small business in my 15 minute city, do I bike 3 hours to the next one?
If you want to. I think a lot of the other commenters suggested using public transit. You could also drive. Maybe they do mail order?
You need transit, not everyone is 18-24, naive, and healthy with no kids
All of the comments I’ve read haven’t mentioned transit, or have been transit positive.
If people can work and live anywhere they want, they want nature.
This is a huge generalization and you seem to imply that would mean populations spreading out into semi rural areas. Studies have shown people are happier with access to nature, but you seem to forget green spaces, parks and tree lined streets exist. I loved living in a walkable city and absolutely would again if I could afford it.
Studies have shown people are happier with access to nature, but you seem to forget green spaces, parks and tree lined streets exist. I loved living in a walkable city and absolutely would again if I could afford it.
I know parks exist, that doesn’t mean the city is right for everyone. I’m glad you would love a great walkable city, I think they’re great too. Do you think that people would enjoy raising a family in a studio apartment?
You don’t think that 2+ bedroom apartments exist in the city?
If you’re about to say “oh of course but they’re unaffordable” then you admit that so many people want to live or have a family in a city that demand outstrips supply. If no one wanted to live in the city housing would be cheaper there. The lack of housing supply is another discussion entirely but put simply, zoning laws in the US are pretty stupid and plenty of other developed countries don’t have that problem.
You don’t think that 2+ bedroom apartments exist in the city?
If you’re about to say “oh of course but they’re unaffordable” then you admit that so many people want to live or have a family in a city that demand outstrips supply. If no one wanted to live in the city housing would be cheaper there. The lack of housing supply is another discussion entirely but put simply, zoning laws in the US are pretty stupid and plenty of other developed countries don’t have that problem.
I think 15 minute cities are great if you have everything to back it up.
This is just a tautology
I think water is great if it has two hydrogens for each oxygen
Even if you have most things nearby for day-to-day life but still need to travel an hour for any of: school, work, daycare, groceries, or even common leisure or entertainment activities, “green spaces”… Then that ain’t a 15 minute city.
Additionally, transit is absolutely included in 15 minute city concept - whether it be pedestrian, biking, bus, train, mixed-mode trips, cars*… It’s a holistic concept so of course these are all under the umbrella.
* yes even cars can be included, but in order for the others to be successful they are general de-prioritized in this model.
Edit: I’ll also add that I see “15-minute city” is an aspirational goal, and anything that moves us closer towards it tends to be good for the people that live there - and even if not fully achieved in a particular place, this type of hand-wringing about specific aspects in order to disregard the whole concept seems disingenuous at best.
water is great if it has two hydrogens for each oxygen
But oxygen is what gives us life.
I’m going to have two hydrogen and two oxygen, thank you very much.
As an American, I worked in Tokyo for a while and I would 100% raise a family in any sized walkable town or city with mass transit. You could walk to several stores or restaurants, the train station, the river, or several parks within 10 minutes.
As an American, I worked in Tokyo for a while and I would 100% raise a family in any sized walkable town or city with mass transit.
They also have along with amazing transit, grocery stores within walking distance, like New York. Also, your preferences aren’t everyone’s preferences. Again, if you have the infrastructure to back it up, go for it. If you don’t, work towards this, but take into account all of the possible problems with it. No one was wishing they lived in the city during the beginning of the pandemic.
I think the downvotes are the blanket statement of “if people can work and live anywhere they want, they want nature”
I like nature just fine and have worked from home for most of the past ten years but you couldn’t get me to give up the city for the country and I’ve had the option for a long time. I moved from Atlanta to Seattle because i preferred the opposite of what you said people want.
Seattle has a shit ton of nature in the city though, and we’re also getting a decent transit. We have greenery crawling up the concrete everywhere.
Atlanta is called the city in the trees/forest, in comparison Seattle may as well be the concrete jungle