How London became a 15-minute city

The idea was developed by the academic Carlos Moreno, scientific director of entrepreneurship and innovation at the Sorbonne in Paris, to create a ‘new relationship between citizens and the rhythm of life in cities’. In his vision, cities are built so that residents are able to meet most of their needs within a 15-minute journey by foot, bike or public transport. Its aim is to provide key services to every neighbourhood, a variety of housing options, the opportunity for remote working and benefits to the environment.

Imagine a street that has working hubs, community gardens, gyms, art and learning centres, cafés and communal open-air spaces, all alongside its residential buildings. The road, once congested with traffic heading into the city centre, has been narrowed, the tarmac now populated with benches where people are happy to perch and chat because fewer journeys means less air pollution and traffic noise. Then there’s the co-working office blocks, which enable employees to work closer to home, with corporations hiring smatterings of desk space throughout London for their staff — think the mountain coming to Mohammed rather than vice versa. And these hot desks are just one option for workers: some days they will work from home, on others they might choose to go into their firm’s city-centre HQ, still there but reduced in size, for important meetings.

It’s not just a pipe dream. Moreno is special envoy to Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris. Hidalgo has put in place the Paris Respire programme to transform the city, and during lockdown she’s turned traffic lanes into cycle paths, introduced mass tree-planting and geared urban design to self-sufficient communities. Porte de Versailles exhibition centre, for example, is now home to the world’s largest urban rooftop farm, with the summit of the six-storey building transformed into a green paradise of produce to feed the local neighbourhood.

Similar ideas are taking root here. I spoke to the newly re-elected Mayor, Sadiq Khan, for my new book The Reset: Ideas To Change How We Work And Live, who said one of his priorities was regenerating local areas with a focus on the high street. ‘High streets for all’ is his version of the 15-minute city. ‘What’s on your doorstep will be the thing that you need,’ Khan says. ‘More than 99 per cent of businesses in London are small or medium-sized. We’re working with them as well as the leisure sector, entertainment and councils around ways that we can improve high streets.’

The 15-minute city needs to work for everyone and this is best achieved by a combination of local investment, community engagement and government initiatives. Olympic Park, for instance, is the site for a new project called East Bank, which will include a new Sadler’s Wells theatre, the BBC and a new V&A. The scheme has received £385 million from the Mayor of London, £151m from the government and £10m from Westfield shopping centre, with a focus on new jobs, lifelong learning and entrepreneurial opportunities for local people. Meanwhile in nearby Tottenham, the Meridian Water development is a £6 billion regeneration project aimed at creative stimulation. It will include spaces for community facilities, social enterprise hubs and affordable homes earmarked for ‘makers and creatives’. It’s mass-scale investment that aims to foster community and vitality within one area.

All well and good but London is already often viewed as a city of vibrant, valued villages. But not everyone can live in Hampstead or Dulwich, so how do we make sure the 15-minute city works for everyone? And how do we include people whose jobs don’t allow them to work from home?

It’s an issue of particular concern to Khan. ‘This pandemic hasn’t just reflected the inequalities, it’s amplified them. The problem is only those in managerial positions or with office jobs will have the luxury or choice to work from home. If you’re a manual worker, drive a bus or do social care then you don’t have the choice.’ What is universal though is the sense of community fostered during the crisis. We clapped for carers, picked up shopping for our neighbours and dug deep into the lives of people around us. Like many, Gregg, a barista in Peckham, is keen to continue this sense of cohesion: ‘I’ve never felt so connected to people in this area. Rather than a dashed hello as they go into the station, it’s felt like people actually care about what you have to say.’

London becoming more of a 15-minute city over lockdowns has seen people challenge the status quo and create a new way of socialising. Trend forecaster Karen Rosenkranz flags up Flock Together, a birdwatching collective. Started by Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera during the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, Flock Together recognises that despite nature’s vital role as a space to de-stress and recharge, many people of colour have felt unwelcomed and marginalised in their local green spaces. It brings people from often under-represented groups into a different space, while still staying local. It’s also free to join so that’s another barrier to entry removed. ‘It’s amazing to see these initiatives where young people go, “Oh look, there are all these things on our doorstep,” and see that they don’t need to travel,’ says Rosenkranz.

The creation of local havens does, however, have implications for central London and its traditional retail, financial and social hubs. If we are becoming more local, is there a danger of becoming parochial?

Sean, a radio host from Ladbroke Grove, says that although he has enjoyed getting to know his local area, it’s not the version of London that makes him feel most alive. ‘I like the hustle and bustle of the city. Londoners thrive on cultures coming together, getting out of our bubbles. How are we going to do that if we’re all only socialising locally?’

It’s a good point. I travelled to my publisher’s office in Blackfriars recently. The train was empty, most of the shops and cafés were closed and there was no one on the bridge taking photos of The Shard. The city I love was a ghost town. It made me worry for the future of London’s centre.

Khan agrees: ‘What I don’t want is a bagel-type recovery where the centre gets hollowed out. We have lots of really good activity in the suburbs, but we don’t want to lose the joy of central London.’ In his mind, the need to entice people back into the centre will necessitate transformation throughout the city.

There can be a perception that having a ‘local’ mindset means you’re not seen as a progressive, go-getting person but the 15-minute city challenges this, with its alluring combination of culture, work and community at its heart. We can create pleasing local environments that we don’t have to leave in order to fulfil our needs. We can also transform our city centres so they lure us in with the offer of something different. When the pandemic is behind us, how will we keep hold of the community feel of lockdown? It’s by continuing to invest time, energy and empathy in our local area, and then taking that collective spirit beyond it. It’s about a network of vibrant neighbourhoods that bring together different cultures, helping and supporting one another. Proud to be a Londoner and proud to be a local? It’s the way forward.

‘The Reset’, by Elizabeth Uviebinené, is out now