Ever noticed how popular walkable neighbourhoods with bike lanes are? We're not forcing anything on anyone - we're pushing for things that people like.
I feel like Ontario has a lot of smaller cities that, with a little help, would be great 15-minute cities, or are already almost there. Especially if downtowns are still mostly intact.
That analysis obviously misses many small cities (I live in one, Somerville, MA, and suspect that Providence, RI, may also qualify). Love the "lazy" branding, but is there an equity framing too? We all deserve to have services, amenities and economic opportunities within close reach.
Maybe regulating prices so that the corner shop is not twice as expensive as the large supermarket. Enforcing that chains that own or franchise both corner shops and larger shops subsidize their smaller shops by their larger shops ?
The conspiracists will say this is the start, and how they make you complacent when they complete the locks on your prison.
But fuck that- I'm just happy to say "I COULD go far away. If I wanted to. But hold that thought, I want to sip a latte on a patio around the corner from my home"
Oh dear, yeah. I mostly moved so things are 15 mins total there and back, but you’re totally right, people are getting things delivered from two blocks away 😭
I'm way too lazy for a 15 min city. I'm aiming for 5 min. Like 15 min is over 1km of walking! I've got a whole shopping village about 5 min away and that's when you really start to feel like its an extension of your home.
Love this. Also, I would love to see more emphasis on laziness. Maybe because my culture is inherited from Boston puritans, but laziness is under-rated.
But the grump in me says "the more women optimize, the more gets added to their plate." Hence me finding the emphasis on laziness somewhat refreshing :)
everything i talk about or develop in this space is the most basic thinking - i'm not complicated obviously but a culture devoted to the car for a century has overcomplicated everything 🙃
my ideal block would have my humble abode on top of the kid's hockey rink and basketball court practise facilities on top of a pub on top of a record store and finally next to a running store. glorious.
This is how it is in Amsterdam and I find it so funny people think it’s all a conspiracy, because 1) Amsterdam is one of the most active cities in the world, and 2) “15-min” cities make life a breeze! For me it’s usually 5-10 ;) 🚲🌷
The criticisms of it are lazy, not the act of living in them. Actually walking placing, as opposed to having to drive to them, is kind of the opposite of lazy.
Additional rebranding required.
15 Min Cities, cuz living in your car sucks actually.
A troll on an article I read yesterday claimed that walkable places make us "soft" so I think you nailed it. So much hardier and tougher if you get into a giant sofa inside a steel box with Surroundsound and let the engine do all the work.
I think there's an aspect to the fear of the 15 minute city for people who don't want to live near other folks. Years ago I remember an acquaintance from a small town visiting my walkable/bikeable Toronto neighbourhood and he simply could not understand why we were living so close to other people.
It’s not a fear factor at all. Some of us just don’t want to live close enough to a neighbour that we can hear their toilet flush, their domestics, their 2am music, or their drunk friends.
Different strokes for different folks. As an author, I want to experience the weird people who live upstairs or next door so I can write about them😀. My dad lives in a small town and it's lovely but there's also no public transportation & not much entertainment or job opportunities for young people.
I'm lucky enough to live in a 15 minute town. I can walk to work, the train station, the bakery, the shops, the post office, the swimming pool. I don't even need a bicycle, never mind a car. Living the dream. It really makes a huge difference to quality of life. And yes, I can be lazy too.
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But that too.
But fuck that- I'm just happy to say "I COULD go far away. If I wanted to. But hold that thought, I want to sip a latte on a patio around the corner from my home"
I tend to explain 15min cities to be "Like any city with less than 50k people".
But the grump in me says "the more women optimize, the more gets added to their plate." Hence me finding the emphasis on laziness somewhat refreshing :)
Or I partly signed my kid up for a baseball program this spring because it's walking distance
From West to East (all in Canada! 🍁)
Victoria 👟14 min /🚲6min
Vancouver 👟13 min /🚲6min
Toronto 👟14 min /🚲6min
Montreal 👟13 min /🚲5min
https://whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/index.php
#15mincity
Example, on the map for Boston, there are some blue parts around colleges/universities, but the rest of the city is quite red https://whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/15min.php?idcity=1327
An article by @ledevoir.com mentionned it (in French) ⤵️
Additional rebranding required.
15 Min Cities, cuz living in your car sucks actually.