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For too long, those of
us who live in cities,
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big and small, 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 option, organization
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and long distances of
most of today's cities.
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Why is it
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we who have to adapt and to degrade
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our potential quality of life?
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Why is it
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not the city that responds to our needs?
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Why have we left cities
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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-size 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, the idea is that cities
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should be designed or re-designed
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so that within the distance
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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,
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health,
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education,
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culture
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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
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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
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of modern cities 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 and of the climate.
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Why do we need to create 15-minute cities?
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First, we need to start asking question
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that we have forgotten.
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For instance, we need to look hard
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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're used.
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Then, we need to ask what
services are available
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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,
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parks.
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Are there green areas?
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Is there water fountains
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placed to cool off 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 the
green and sustainable city.
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Second, proximity: to live
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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 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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Human 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,
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agile, 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
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a big bang of proximity,
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which includes, for instance,
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a massive decentralization,
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developing new services
for each of the districts
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and reduction of traffic
by increasing bike lanes
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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 sport centers
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or turning schools into
neighborhood centers
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in the evenings.
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That'd actually a golden
rule of the 15-minute city,
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every square meter that's
already built should be used
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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
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not cars.
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Second, each square meter should serve
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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 is often determined
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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.