15-minute cities

Moreno introduced the idea at the 2015 Paris climate conference and soon started advising Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who made the 15-minute city concept a pillar of her campaign for a second term. Hidalgo has pushed for fewer cars to reduce both the city’s carbon footprint and unhealthy air pollution. But the changes aren’t just about making it easier to bike or walk—it’s equally important that people have more options nearby, Moreno says. Proximity is a key part of sustainable transportation. And it’s also just a better way to live.

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The city is encouraging the redevelopment of buildings that were used only part of the time, like offices, into multiuse spaces. One former administrative building now contains a covered market, housing, offices, a community preschool, a hotel and youth hostel, restaurants, bars, an art gallery, a gym, and urban farming on the rooftop. Little-used parking garages and former industrial sites are becoming housing. A former maternity hospital is now a school with a library and playground that the public can access outside of school hours for open-air film screenings, shows, and book fairs. The city is also pushing to make sure that each neighborhood has access to more significant services, such as healthcare and coworking spaces.

One of the most genuinely confusing phenomena over the past few years has been the conspiracy theories surrounding “15 minute cities” that have caused people to see things we advocate for — traffic calming, quality bike infrastructure, and public transit — as government control, overreach, and even tyranny.