100+ TRENDS

Cities should be designed or redesigned so that people can access work, housing, food, healthcare, education, culture and leisure within a 15-minute walk or bike ride, said Carlos Moreno, associate professor at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne and special envoy of the Mayor of Paris for smart cities. He presented a report on the concept of the "15-minute city" at the official TED conference.

According to Moreno, a 15-minute city has three key characteristics:

1. The rhythm of the city focuses on people, not cars. 
2. Each square meter performs different functions.
3. Neighborhoods are designed in such a way that it is possible to work and thrive in them without having to constantly travel to another place.

At the same time, the city should be green and eco–sustainable, and its residents should actively participate in the transformation of their area.

"We need to make urban life more enjoyable, flexible, healthy and versatile. To do this, we need to make sure that everyone living in the center and on the outskirts has access to all services in direct contact," says Carlos Moreno.

The first city to apply the idea of a 15-minute city is Paris.  Mayor Anne Hidalgo instructed to carry out massive decentralization as soon as possible, reduce traffic flow by increasing the size of lanes in recreation areas, create new economic models to stimulate local shops, carry out landscaping with more green spaces and transform existing infrastructure. For example, turn laboratories into sports centers or schools into recreation centers in the evenings. 

Ultimately, a 15-minute city should solve the problem of saving time by offering a new pace of life – a 15-minute one, concludes Carlos Moreno.