How the 15 minutes city became a measure for urban quality

The term ‘15 Minutes City’ was coined in 2016 to describe a locally oriented urban design strategy. Shops, healthcare, education, work, and entertainment – all should be accessible within a 15 minutes' walk or bike ride from your home. The aim is to create a people-centered urban development that decentralizes to create more lively local neighborhoods.  The concept is already being implemented in cities across the world – from Paris, Madrid, and Copenhagen to Shanghai and Bogotá. But what are the benefits of this model? How can it help reduce the cities' carbon footprint? And why has it recently been subject to right wing misinformation and conspiracy theories, claiming that the concept is a ‘totalitarian control experiment’?  In this episode, hos Michael Booth meets the Executive Director of global mayoral network, C40 Cities, Mark Watts. Mark Watts shares how the C40 Cities are incorporating the principles of the 15 minutes city with transformative success.  Let’s Talk Architecture is a podcast by Danish Architecture Center.

Om Podcasten

Join the Danish Architecture Center as we chat with some of the world’s leading architects, designers, planners, and engineers about their work and ideas. Let’s Talk Architecture introduces you to the creative and innovative minds behind the future of our buildings and cities. Let’s Talk Architecture introduces you to the creative and innovative minds behind the future of our buildings and cities. Get to know the creative and innovative minds that shapes Danish architecture. Author and journalist, Michael Booth, is not an architect, but he is curious about cities, and how they are built. In this podcast he ventures out into the city with architects, planners, and urban developers, while he asks them about the agendas, that shapes their projects and our built environment. They talk about everything from the aesthetics of the climate change, modernist masterpieces, extensive retail planning, rethinking of materials, sensuous architecture, transformation of existing buildings, the shaping of new architects, and much much more. Generous funding is provided by Realdania and the Danish Industry Foundation. Learn more at dac.dk/en/podcast