If you live in a city or town, you have a mental map of the places you travel to most. But how accessible are those places, and how long does it take you to get there? Most of all, could you do everything you need to do without a car?
These are the kinds of questions advocates for more liveable urban areas are asking now with greater urgency. Climate change, rising fuel costs and social connectedness are driving the move towards “15-minute cities” – although the actual number of minutes can vary depending on a city’s ambition.
Copenhagen, for instance, is aiming to be a five-minute city, while Melbourne is opting for ten. New Zealand cities are also getting on board, with Christchurch and Wellington wanting to be 15-minute cities, and Hamilton a 20-minute city.
The idea is not that you can get across an entire city in that time, rather that your own neighbourhood has everything you need within reach by foot, bike or public transport. For simplicity, we just call it the “x-minute neighbourhood”.
Our recently published research evaluates all of New Zealand’s urban areas and compares them with the largest 500 cities in the US for residents’ proximity to daily needs. So, how do they currently stack up and what are some of the key challenges?
Read the full article in ‘The Conversation’ here.