The 15-Minute City Revisited: Equity, Access, and Urban Regeneration

A few years ago, the idea of the 15-minute city made headlines as an urban planning revolution. The concept was simple yet powerful: every resident should be able to meet their daily needs — work, school, groceries, healthcare, recreation — within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their home.

But as the concept spreads globally, a new question is emerging: Can the 15-minute city deliver on its promise of equity and regeneration, or is it becoming a luxury reserved for the few?

At Fresh Assets, we believe it can — but only if it's built with accessibility, affordability, and ecological regeneration at its core.

What Is the 15-Minute City?

The idea was popularized by Professor Carlos Moreno in Paris and has since gained traction in cities like Portland, Melbourne, Bogotá, and Buenos Aires. At its essence, the model prioritizes:

• Mixed-use development
• Decentralized services
• Active mobility (walking, biking)
• Public space over private transport

It reimagines urban life not as a commute between zones, but as a local, human-scale experience.

Why It Needs Revisiting

While the 15-minute city offers compelling environmental and social benefits, critics have pointed out risks:

• Gentrification of walkable, well-serviced neighborhoods
• Exclusionary planning that reinforces existing inequalities
• Car-centric infrastructure in many cities that resists adaptation
• Lack of investment in lower-income zones

Without safeguards, the model risks becoming an urban privilege rather than a public good.

Urban Regeneration Through Proximity

To fulfill its promise, the 15-minute city must be paired with inclusive regeneration — the process of reinvesting in neglected or underused urban areas in ways that:

• Center the needs of long-time residents
• Create public spaces that serve all age and income groups
• Increase access to basic services without displacing communities
• Promote mixed-income housing alongside mixed-use zoning
• Integrate green infrastructure into everyday public realms

This isn’t about building for the wealthy — it’s about restoring balance in the urban fabric.

Examples in Action

📍 Medellín, Colombia

Once considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world, Medellín invested in cable cars, libraries, and parks in its poorest hillsides. The result? Improved mobility, safety, and access — without mass displacement.

📍 Paris, France

The city has banned car traffic from certain zones, expanded cycling infrastructure, and transformed schoolyards into public spaces. These actions embed climate resilience and accessibility into urban DNA.

📍 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Its “Comuna Verde” program promotes urban agriculture, pedestrian streets, and reforested corridors in underserved districts — placing ecology and proximity at the center of development.

How Fresh Assets Thinks About Proximity

For us, the 15-minute city is more than an idea — it’s a design principle.

We advocate for:

• Development that restores and reuses land rather than expands sprawl
• Mobility infrastructure that prioritizes access, not just movement
• Policies that ensure community participation in land use planning
• Spaces that serve multiple functions — economic, social, and ecological
• A regulatory shift that supports compact, resilient urban cores

It’s about designing places where people and ecosystems thrive together, block by block.

Final Thought

The 15-minute city is not a trend — it’s a framework for rebalancing urban life.

But to succeed, it must be more than walkability maps and zoning changes. It must be rooted in justice, access, and ecological regeneration — the very pillars of sustainable development.

At Fresh Assets, we believe in designing for proximity — not just to services, but to opportunity, dignity, and nature.

Because in the cities of the future, the closest things should be the ones that matter most.

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