Imagine a city where everything you need is just a 15-minute journey away - either on foot, by bike or by public transport. This is at the heart of the "15-minute city" (15mC) concept, which aims to make cities more vibrant, sustainable and fair. An important part of this idea is to ensure that the services we need – education, healthcare, shops – are located close to where we live. The aim is to reduce car use, lower emissions and create lively, walkable neighbourhoods. Although the idea is popular among urban planners and politicians, it is challenging to implement it in a fair and efficient way.
"Just in 15 Minutes" (JiM) is a project that meets these challenges by combining different methods and interdisciplinary collaboration. The project brings together social scientists, civil engineers, municipalities, regional transport authorities and NGOs to develop guidelines and political tools that urban planners can use to safeguard social and environmental justice in the planning of 15mC.
The project aims to
- Investigate how different social groups gain access to services via sustainable means of transport.
- Understand why organizations choose to locate public services in specific locations.
- Explore how citizens actually move within the 15mC areas.
- Integrate environmental and health data in the development of plans for a fair 15mC.
Funding
The project is financed by the Driving Urban Transitions program in the Urban Europe collaboration. The project consists of partners from Sweden, Norway, Poland, France, Turkey and Spain. The cooperation between different countries contributes to a broader understanding of different planning methods and ensures robust political tools that can be adapted to different national contexts.
The project period is from 2024 to 2026.