> The mayor has a vision for a "15-minute city" where you rarely leave your neighborhood. The concept offends my American sensibilities of wanting to roam free over wide ranges.
Interesting comment, but I think a better take is that 15-minute neighborhoods don’t force you to leave your neighborhood for short trips. Is it really American to be forced into traveling outside of your neighborhood to go to things? I think it’s more free (and therefore “American?”) to have more local options, which of course doesn’t preclude distant options if you desire.
He's not getting why the 15-minute city/town/village is what we need to live and work in: It puts an end to those absurdly long commutes and have everything you need daily close to you: schools, work, living and shopping all within a short distance is how we lived before we surrendered our cities and landscapes to the car. You can still road freely into the wider country your holidays and weekends, but then you'd just rent a car or take public transport.
This is pretty much how I live in London, and it's great!
* Several small shops and small-ish supermarkets in a 5 min walk, with bigger ones maybe 15 mins walk away
* Doctors, dentists, even a hospital within 10 mins walk
* Ditto for co-working spaces
* Gyms, swimming pool, coffee shops, even some theatres and a cinema within 5 mins walk too
Same here in Seattle! But I also use an ebike to get everywhere within five minutes if needed and for carrying heavy groceries and dealing with steep hills.
Interesting comment, but I think a better take is that 15-minute neighborhoods don’t force you to leave your neighborhood for short trips. Is it really American to be forced into traveling outside of your neighborhood to go to things? I think it’s more free (and therefore “American?”) to have more local options, which of course doesn’t preclude distant options if you desire.