WEBVTT

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For too long, those of us
who live in cities big and small

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have accepted the unacceptable.

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We accept that in cities
our sense of time is warped,

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because we have to waste so much of it

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just adapting to the absurd organization
and long distances

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of most of today's cities.

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Why is it we who have to adapt

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and to degrade our potential
quality of life?

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Why is it not the city
that responds to our needs?

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Why have we left cities
to develop on the wrong path for so long?

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I would like to offer a concept of cities

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that goes in the opposite direction
to modern urbanism,

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an attempt at converging life
into a human-sized space

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rather than fracturing it
into inhuman bigness

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and then forcing us to adapt.

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I call it "the 15-minute city."

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And in a nutshell,

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the idea is that cities
should be designed or redesigned

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so that within the distance
of a 15-minute walk

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or bike ride,

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people should be able to live

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the essence of what constitutes
the urban experience:

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to access work,

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housing,

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food, health, education,

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culture and leisure.

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Have you ever stopped to ask yourself:

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Why does a noisy and polluted street
need to be a noisy and polluted street?

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Just because it is?

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Why can't it be a garden street
lined with trees,

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where people can actually meet
and walk to the baker

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and kids can walk to school?

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Our acceptance of the dysfunctions
and indignities of modern cities

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has reached a peak.

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We need to change that.

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We need to change it
for the sake of justice,

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of our well-being

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and of the climate.

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What do we need
to create 15-minute cities?

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First, we need to start asking questions
that we have forgotten.

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For instance, we need to look hard
at how we use our square meters.

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What is that space for?

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Who's using it and how?

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We need to understand
what resources we have

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and how they are used.

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Then we need to ask what services
are available in the vicinity --

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not only in the city center,

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in every vicinity.

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Health providers, shops,
artisans, markets,

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sports, cultural life,

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schools, parks.

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Are there green areas?

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Are there water fountains
placed to cool off

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during the frequent heat waves?

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We also have to ask ourselves:

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How do we work?

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Why is the place I live here,
and work is far away?

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We need to rethink cities
around the four guiding principles

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that are the key building blocks
of the 15-minute city.

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First, ecology: for a green
and sustainable city.

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Second, proximity:

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to live with reduced distance
to other activities.

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Third, solidarity:
to create links between people.

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Finally, participation
should actively involve citizens

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in the transformation
of their neighborhood.

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Don't get me wrong --

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I'm not angling for cities
to become rural hamlets.

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Urban life is vibrant and creative.

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Cities are places of economic
dynamism and innovation.

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But we need to make urban life
more pleasant, agile,

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healthy and flexible.

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To do so, we need to make sure everyone --

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and I mean everyone,

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those living downtown
and those living at the fringes --

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has access to all key services
within proximity.

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How do we get this done?

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The first city to adopt
the 15-minute city idea

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is Paris,

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France.

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Mayor Anne Hidalgo has suggested
a big bang of proximity,

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which includes, for instance,
a massive decentralization,

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developing new services
for each of the districts --

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(City sounds)

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a reduction of traffic by increasing
bike lanes into spaces of leisure;

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new economic models
to encourage local shops;

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building more green spaces;

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transform existing infrastructure,

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for instance, fabrication labs
in sports centers

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or turning schools into neighborhood
centers in the evenings.

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That's actually a golden rule
of the 15-minute city:

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every square meter that’s already built
should be used for different things.

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The 15-minute city is an attempt
to reconcile the city

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with the humans that live in it.

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The 15-minute city
should have three key features.

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First, the rhythm of the city
should follow humans, not cars.

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Second, each square meter
should serve many different purposes.

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Finally, neighborhoods should be designed

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so that we can live,
work and thrive in them

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without having to constantly
commute elsewhere.

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It's funny if you think of it:

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the way many modern cities are designed

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is often determined
by the imperative to save time,

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and yet so much time is lost to commuting,

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sitting in traffic jams,

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driving to a mall,

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in a bubble of illusory acceleration.

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The 15-minute city idea
answers the question of saving time

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by turning it on its head,

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by suggesting a different pace of life.

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A 15-minute pace.

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Thank you.