“The latest row comes after House of Commons leader Penny Mourdant last week unveiled a guide to help MPs understand eight of the biggest conspiracy theories posing a threat to democracy, [including] the claim that 15-minute cities and walkable neighbourhoods curb people’s freedoms.” [Architects Journal]
Proximity: Things must be close. Diversity: Land uses must be mixed to provide a wide variety of urban amenities nearby. Density: There must be enough people to support a diversity of businesses in a compact land area. Ubiquity: These neighbourhoods must be so common that they are available and affordable to anyone who wants to live in one.
Initial reaction was less than positive; it didn’t seem possible for people to live, shop and work within a 15-minute radius. Covid and the Climate Crisis, has changed this perception. There are several cities and towns actively planning/implementing 15-Minute neighbourhoods,
To redevelop Lewes’ Phoenix Industrial Estate area, sustainable developers Human Nature are drawing on urban-planning principles being used in Paris, Barcelona and Berlin to create a neighbourhood built around people not cars.
Central to our plans is the principle of the five-minute neighbourhood, where most daily needs can be met within a short walk or cycle. This means the Phoenix will be truly mixed-use: made up of homes – of different types, sizes and price points (including designated affordable housing) – work and creative spaces, cafés, leisure facilities and communal green spaces, connected by safe and gentle streets.
The principle is our take on the 15-minute city, a phrase coined by French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno, and inspired by urban planning critic Jane Jacobs, author of the classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities. It has grown in popularity since it was adopted by leading urban designers in the 1990s and latterly Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, who has promised to pedestrianise large parts of the city, create a bike lane in every street by 2024, and stop the reliance on private cars.
‘Dishonest’ claims made by a government minister about 15-minute cities have been labelled ‘disappointing’ by the profession amid an ethics row. Opposition MPs have this week called for an investigation into anti-15 minute city leaflets circulated by Maria Caulfield, minister for mental health and women’s health strategy.
Quizzed on the leaflets circulated last year by BBC South East Today earlier this month (5 May), Caulfield appeared to confuse congestion charging with walkable neighbourhood schemes and said ‘with 15 minute cities, if you go out of your 15 minute area you will have to pay a road tax’. Lewes Council does not plan to introduce any charges, it told the broadcaster. The draft local plan does not mention road charges in any proposals for walkable 10 to 20-minute neighbourhoods either.
Responding to the row, members of the architecture profession called for government ministers to ‘educate themselves’ on the 15-minute city concept. The Conservative MP’s views were also branded ‘disappointing’. Bell Phillips associate Jay Morton told the AJ: ‘Ministers should educate themselves on the built environment and the benefits of concepts like the 15-minute city, which can enhance community wellbeing, improve health and environmental sustainability, rather than peddling wild conspiracy theories aimed at inciting outrage.’
The latest row comes after House of Commons leader Penny Mourdant last week unveiled a guide to help MPs understand eight of the biggest conspiracy theories posing a threat to democracy. The document was put together by charities and campaign groups such as Full Fact and the Antisemitism Policy Trust. Among the conspiracy theories it cited was the claim that 15-minute cities and walkable neighbourhoods curb people’s freedoms.
