“15-Minute Cities”: The Sustainable Model for Future Metropolises

The ideal city of the modern world should efficiently balance space and time, ensuring that every citizen has access to essential services within 15 minutes by walking, cycling, or using public transport.

This urban planning theory was introduced ten years ago by Carlos Moreno, a professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, who believes that the future of urban centers should revolve around guaranteeing a high quality of life, aiming to make cities sustainable.

The concept of 15-Minute Cities was first presented to the world in Paris in 2015 during the COP 21 Climate Change Conference, and since then, many cities around the world have adopted it in various ways.

“The concept of 15-minute cities envisions urban centers functioning more effectively, fairly, and environmentally friendly if essential services and key amenities are accessible within a quarter of an hour using green transportation,” reads a research paper published in Nature Cities by the Sony Computer Science Laboratories-Rome, a non-profit organization focused on urban sustainability.

“This idea provides an alternative to urban planning models centered around car traffic. Instead, by emphasizing efficient public transportation and the proximity of services, this approach can tackle pressing issues such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and social inequalities.”

The document reveals the results of a survey conducted on approximately 10,000 cities worldwide, showing that some European cities are leading the way in sustainable urban development and sustainable transportation thanks to the extensive expansion of public transport. Among these standout green, sustainable cities are Milan, Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Paris.

The concept of a 15-minute city fundamentally relies on efficient public transport that ensures residents can easily access parks, schools, offices, restaurants, and theaters within a short period.

“Our work,” the study continues, “confirms that a 15-minute city, to be genuinely effective, must ensure sustainable mobility on the one hand and, on the other, eliminate the social disparities between those living in city centers and those in suburban areas – using public transport as the equalizer.”

In Italy, Milan is one of the cities investing the most to meet these demands by constructing strategic infrastructure like the M4, the new metro line built by Webuild that crosses the city from east to west over a total length of 30 kilometers.

The completion of the M4 has extended Milan’s green rail transportation network to 118 kilometers, making it the sixth-largest in Europe. One of the major benefits of this infrastructure is that it allows residents to travel from the city airport of Linate to the historic city center in just 12 minutes.

When it comes to minimizing travel time to essential services, Copenhagen’s Cityringen is hard to beat. Opened in 2019, the metro line built by Webuild in the Capital of Denmark spans 15.5 kilometers and encircles the historic center through a ring that connects to other city lines.

Since its inauguration, every resident of the Danish capital can reach a public transport station within just 600 meters on foot — a key factor contributing to the city’s record of 75% of its population moving around by foot, bike, or public transport.

Achieving the goal of a 15-minute city becomes more challenging in large metropolitan areas, particularly when it comes to efficiently and sustainably connecting suburban areas. This is the aspiration of Paris, which, despite its population size and geographical scale, is actively working on a large-scale infrastructure project to bridge this gap.

The French capital is currently constructing the Grand Paris Express, the largest sustainable transportation project in Europe, in which Webuild is also involved. The project encompasses 200 kilometers of metro lines and 68 stations currently under development around the city, aiming to serve residential and commercial neighborhoods that have long remained disconnected from fast city transport.

In addition to improving transportation, the creation of a Paris metro lines network connecting the suburbs and communities of Greater Paris is expected to play a critical role in reducing social inequalities.