86
fundwillensurethatit includesa diversecrosssection
ofthepopulation.
Detroit’splanswerepartlyinspiredbyPortland,Ore.,
whichis celebratedinurbanistcirclesasa modelofU.S.city
planning.Portlandhasthehighestrateofbikecommuting
ofanymajorAmericanmetro,a tightboundarythatdefines
howmuchitcansprawl,andforward-thinkingpolicies
aimedatspurringdense,lower-costhousingproduction.
“We’reoftenmixedupwithParis,”jokesChrisWarner,
directorofthePortlandBureauofTransportation(PBOT).
Yeteventhere,it willtakeyearstoachievethelevelof
compactnessthatmakesfora “completeneighborhood,”as
thecity’s 2013 planphraseditsgoal.Aboutthree-quarters
ofPortland’sresidentiallandisoccupiedprimarilyby
single-familyhomes,andmorethanhalfofitspopulation
commutesbycar.ArecentBrookingsInstitutionreport
thatstudiedlocaltravelbehaviorsfoundthatamongsix
U.S.metropolitanareas,Portlandhadtheshortestaver-
agetripdistanceforpeopletravelingtowork,shopping,
anderrands.Butthatdistancewasstill6.2miles,hardlya
15-minutewalkorbikeridetothedentistorlaundromat.
Tocombatthis,PBOTisspendingmostofits$150million
capital-improvementbudgetonbikeandwalkinginfra-
structureinsidecompleteneighborhoods,andontransit
toconnectthem.
AdieTomer,a fellowatBrookings’MetropolitanPolicy
Programandco-authorofthereport,saysthe15-minute
conceptfallsflatinAmericabecause“peopleintheU.S.
alreadyliveina 15-minutecity,it’sjustthatthey’recover-
ingvastdistancesina car.”Plannersconcernedwithurban
livabilityandrisingcarbonemissionsmightdowelltofocus
ondistanceratherthantime,hesays.Hesuggeststhatthe
“3-milecity”mightresonatebetter.
Howevertheconceptis cast,ArtPearce,PBOT’smanager
ofpolicyplanningandprojects,seessignsthatPortlanders
arekeepingtheirtravelclosertohomeasthepandemic
changesthewaytheyrelatetotheirsurroundings.“We’re
seeinga lotofpeopleadjustingtheirbehaviorstofocus
moreontheircommunities,”hesays.“Thatproducesan
opportunitytostrengthenthosetiesaspeoplereturntoa
morenormallife.”Onethingwould-be15-minutecitieseverywherewillhave
toreckonwithissocialequity—andaffordablehousingin
particular,asDetroit’sTrudeaupointsout.Manyneigh-
borhoodservicesrelyonlower-incomeworkerswhooften
makelongcommutes,anda 15-minutecityisn’treallyone
if onlythewell-offcanstayput.Tothatend,Parisaspiresto
have30%ofitshousingstockinthepublicdomainby2030,
andit’sbeenincreasingtheshareeveninricherdistricts
despiteresistancefromwell-heeledneighbors.“Itiscom-
pletelypartofAnneHidalgo’sprogramtoresistrealestate
pressure,tomaintainpublichousing,andtodiversifythe
housingofferedforthemiddleclass,”saysRolland,the
15-minute-citycommissioner.Suchmeasurescan,toa degree,counterbalanceParis’s
trendstowardhighrentsandsocialpolarization.Butina
citywherepropertypricesroseevenduringthepandemic,
they’reunlikelytoprevailcompletely.Andothergoalsof
the15-minutecity,suchasgreeningandpedestrianizing
theheartofParis,riskalienatinglower-incomesuburban
commuters.ThisaccusationwasleveledagainstHidalgo’s
administrationin2016,afterit introducedchangestothe
Seine’slowerquaysidethateliminateda keyrouteforcar
commuters.ValériePécresse,presidentoftheregional
councilforÎle-de-France,whichencompassesParis’ssub-
urbs,accusedHidalgoofactinginan“egotisticalmanner”
bypushingthroughroadclosures,notingthat“somepeople
don’thaveanysolutionotherthandrivingintoParisfor
work,becausetheydon’thavethemeanstolivethere.”
Othershavepointedouta relatedconcern:that,bypriori-
tizinglocalinfrastructure,governmentswilloverlookbadly
neededregionalinvestments,suchasintransitsystems
servinglong-distancecommuters.
Morenorecognizesthatlargesegmentsofthepopulation
mightneverenjoytheslower-paced,localizedlifeheenvi-
sions.“Ofcourseweneedtoadaptthisconceptfordiffer-
entrealities,”hesays.“Notallpeoplehavethepossibilityof
havingjobswithin 15 minutes.”Butheemphasizesthatmany
people’scircumstancescouldbeprofoundlychanged—
somethinghebelieveswe’realreadyseeingbecauseofthe
pandemic’scanceledcommutes.Inhisview,centralizedcor-
porateofficesarea thingofthepast;teleworkandconstel-
lationsofcoworkinghubsarethefuture.
The15-minutecitycouldalsobeseenaswhatwriterDan
Hillidentifiedasa formof“post-traumaticurbanism”—away
torecoverfromtheonslaughtsofsuchthingsasproperty
speculation,overtourism,andnowthepandemic.Already
it’sbecomeclearinParis,Rollandsays,thatthecityneedsa
morelocalizedmedicalnetwork,“sopeopledon’tfeelthey
havetogostraighttotheemergencyroom.”
Followingtheunendingtraumasof2020,there’san
appealingnostalgiatoa renewedemphasisonneighbor-
hoods,evenif it addressesonlysomeofthecity’smod-
ernchallenges.This,too,Morenoacknowledges,pointing
yetagaintohisidea’srecuperativepossibilitiesaboveall.
“The15-minutecityisa journey,a guideline,a possibility
fortransformingtheparadigmforhowweliveoverthenext
manydecades,”hesays.“Before,peoplewerelosinguseful
time.Withthe15-minute city, we want them to regain it.” <BW>Bloomberg Businessweek November 16, 2020“Of course weneed to adapt
thisconcept fordifferent
realities. Notall peoplehave
thepossibilityofhaving jobs
within 15 minutes”
THE NEW ECONOMY