The “quarter-hour city“, you may have heard of it without really knowing what it was all about? It’s a urban planning model that allows any resident to be within 15 minutes of all everyday services! And Paris is one of the cities ranked highly according to this concept!
The quarter-hour city, the ideal city model
More concretely, it’s having a suprette, a sports facility, a medical practice or a library not far from your home! This concept was popularized and championed by Carlos Moreno. This urban planner advocates this model of an ideal city where residents are less than 15 minutes on foot or by bike from local services considered essential to daily life. Food, education, healthcare, physical exercise, access to culture… All without having to take your car!
In reality, many cities, Paris included, have been working towards the quarter-hour city for several decades. If the concept is currently on everyone’s lips when we talk about urbanism, ideal city and city of tomorrow, it’s because it has experienced a post-Covid 19 craze. In particular, the pandemic highlighted the need to develop and safeguard local services.
A successful gamble for the City of Light
This week, researchers published a study resulting from the analysis of data from nearly 10,000 cities worldwide. Their efforts focused on the time it takes city dwellers to go to restaurants, walk children to school…. Whether on foot or by bike. Two cities stand out clearly for their ability to have applied this model prized by many elected officials around the world: Milan and Paris!
Mayor of Paris since 2014, Anne Hidalgo has campaigned extensively, with the support of Carlos Moreno, for this 15-minute city, particularly since her second term in 2020. Some neighborhoods in the City of Light have even, according to the study, fallen below 15 minutes! In fact, you can check out the 15Min-City map and see where other cities around the world stand!