Let's Talk Architecture

How the 15 minutes city became a measure for urban quality

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Episode notes

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.