Heated debate on controversial 15-minute cities has led to calls for a rule change – but the so-called ‘low traffic neighbourhoods’ are here to stay, says the founder of the idea.
The town planning concept of 15-minute cities is not particularly new, but has gained popularity – or rather, notoriety – in the past few years.
And the scale of the furore around 15-minute cities has even led to a think tank calling for a change to the rules around how they’re discussed by politicians.
The idea of a 15-minute city is that everything in a city or town is designed to be within 15 minutes’ walking distance of where people live.
So, for new build estates or town planners designing new urban sprawl, the plans will incorporate this design philosophy, putting things like shops, GP surgeries, schools and leisure facilities all within 15 minutes’ walk of housing.
That means, in theory, that people don’t need cars to live their day to day lives because everything is in walking distance.
But some conspiratorial types online have argued that the plans are anti-motorist and could even be a method of ‘controlling’ people, and that there’s a risk people won’t be allowed to leave their “15-minute area”.
Think tank Demos has called for a change in policy to silence the noise about 15-minute cities after it analyses the contents of half a million social posts and interviewed 47 members of the public and 24 journalists.
It said: “Over the past 18 months, disinformation surrounding Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) has erupted with a marked rise of conspiracy theories online. Rumours swirl of shadowy elites forcing 15-minute city climate lockdowns in local communities and of councillors undemocratically installing surveillance regimes on motorists.
“We found that local divisions are not the result of disinformation and conspiracy theories, but rooted in the confronting nature of the policies themselves and the very real impact they are having on people’s lives.
“Our findings reveal the failures on the part of councils to understand and effectively engage with their communities that has amounted to a democratic chasm; and they illuminate how the actions of national politicians have made this even worse.
“Driving Disinformation puts forward a number of recommendations, including “a new ‘Civic Accord’ to restore trust in local democracy in our local communities”, as well as “an anti-disinformation standard in public life”
A petition launched in 2023 calling for a ban on 15-minute cities without referendums was met with a government response after it garnered 81,000 signatures.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “15-minute cities aim to provide people with more choice about how and where they travel, not to restrict movement. It is for a local authority to determine whether or not this is a concept they wish to propose for their local area and/or include in their Local Plan or hold a referendum on such issues. The government believe there are sufficient mechanisms already in place for local authorities to do this and has no plans to make this mandatory.”
And it looks like, despite the arguments, 15-minute cities are here to stay.
The mastermind behind the concept, Carlos Moreno, told Cities Today this month that many cities worldwide are still adopting them, despite the ‘death threats’ he has received online.
He added: “During the last year, we have deployed this 15-minute city concept in lot of places around the world.
“In the UK, we had the backlash in cities like Oxford for example, but the local elections which followed this were very positive for mayors that have embraced this concept.”
