I was working from home this morning, and my stomach started to rumble. To remedy that situation, I decided to fix the remains of a shrimp salad, but I needed cocktail sauce, and my wife had previously informed me we were out of horseradish, a key ingredient—arguably the key ingredient.
How to solve that problem? I simply walked to my neighborhood grocery store and bought a jar of horseradish. The trip took me 15 minutes total, which included a short (and depressing) conversation with a neighbor about a tree that was cut down for the stupidest of reasons.
But I digress. I live in a small town, but my neighborhood qualifies as a 15-minute city. From my house, I can walk to work, to the grocery story, to numerous restaurants and bars, to the bank, to the hair salon, to the hospital, to the post office, to city hall, and to the county administration building.
By definition, a 15-minute city is that portion of a town or city that a person can walk to or bike to. A 15-minute city is based on a person’s residence; thus, my 15-minute city is slightly different than the one for the people who live a block south of me, who are closer to campus but further from downtown.
For me, the 15-minute city is very freeing. I can complete much of my daily routine without having to crank a car; I rarely have to deal with a “rush hour.”
Advocates for the 15-minute city tout its obvious health and environmental benefits. They also note that everyone, essentially, lived in a 15-minute city for all of history, until about 100 years ago when automobiles began to dominate transportation systems.
Strangely—or perhaps not, given that everything has become a source of angst—the 15-minute city has become the target of conspiracy theorists who see it a means of control. No walls surround my 15-minute city, and no one has taken away my car. Also, the Earth is not flat….
Here is a good explanation of the concept with helpful illustrations: https://commonedge.org/the-15-minute-city-deconstructed/?