A recent study evaluated around 10,000 cities around the world in terms of their accessibility to essential services. Europe stands out positively, especially in small and medium-sized cities.
The Swiss city of Zurich has been named the best example of a 15-minute city. According to a new study, 99.2% of its residents live within a 15-minute walk of essential services, including schools, hospitals, parks and stores.
Milan, Copenhagen, Dublin and Turin join the list of cities with essential services accessible in 15 minutes for more than 95% of residents.
The study, published in Nature Cities magazinewas carried out by Sony Computer Laboratories and evaluated around 10,000 cities around the world. The researchers used open data to calculate the average distance people have to walk or cycle to reach essential services and calculated the proportion of inhabitants who have what they need within a few minutes, concluding that only a small fraction can be considered “15-minute cities”. You can read more about it in this Peggada article.
A map which shows how far places are from becoming 15-minute cities was published. In Portugal, you can see the accessibility times (on foot and by bicycle) of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Guimarães, Póvoa de Varzim, Porto, Aveiro, Viseu, Coimbra, Lisbon, Faro, Ponta Delgada and Funchal.
By selecting a city, you can get a more detailed view of the proximity of services in different urban areas: in the red areas, the time needed to access the nearest services is on average more than 15 minutes, while the blue areas are 15-minute areas. The data is presented taking into account average accessibility or by category – outdoor activities, education, supplies, food, travel, cultural activities, physical exercise, services and healthcare.
The researchers selected 54 cities for a more detailed study and found that the most accessible cities were medium-sized European cities.
Small towns also tend to do better, but there are exceptions in large metropolises such as Berlin and Paris, where more than 90% of residents live less than 15 minutes’ walk from essential services.
Growing US cities with a high dependence on cars, such as San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta and Detroit, appear at the bottom of the ranking.
However, the authors point out that the study is limited by two factors: the quality of open data, which is more uneven in cities outside Europe and North America; and the fact that it is very practical and safe to walk in some cities. Heavy traffic, high crime, bad weather and steep hills can discourage people from walking even geographically short distances.
The authors developed an algorithm to figure out how much cities would have to change to become affordable. The state of Atlanta, for example, would have to relocate 80% of its amenities to achieve equal distribution per resident, while Paris would only have to relocate 10%.
For Hygor Piaget, co-author of the research, the study is not a proposal to destroy cities and redistribute their services, but rather a mathematical exercise to make people think. “We’re looking for ways to improve the lives of the majority of people,” he said in statements to The Guardian.
However, the researchers warn that making a city more accessible is not enough on its own to reduce dependence on private cars. Although the Netherlands has some of the best bicycle infrastructure in Europe, it still has more cars per capita than rural countries like Ireland and Hungary.
In Zurich, the population has complained about the lack of adequate bicycle infrastructure and the dangers faced by cyclists, and voted in favor (71%) of a proposal to build 50 km of cycle paths by 2020.
Restaurants, commerce and services will now pay for the waste they make and not the amount indexed to the water bill. The measure will go
This article addresses an action that promotes change towards more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities, helping toreduce the adverse environmental impact of cities.
To discover businesses that are actively working to contribute to this Sustainable Development Goal, click here. To read news, interviews or tips related to this Goal, click here.Esta publicação também está disponível em:
Português (Portuguese (Portugal))
Para estar a par de tudo o que acontece na área da sustentabilidade, consumo responsável e impacto social.
