The idea of a 15-min neighbourhood is that everything a person needs should be within a 15-minute walk or cycle from any point in a city. This includes work, shopping, education, healthcare, leisure and any other amenities a person may need in their regular life.
Locally, perhaps Windsor Castle could be considered an early example of a 15-min Neighbourhood 😉
In more recent times, such a concept would have been called a village! We had them, we joined them up and turned them into conurbations, now we see the negative impact on our health there is a move to change back.
One good thing is that if this becomes Gov Policy they will have to ensure a local doctors surgery on any new development, which seems to be lacking from any current plans to expand Windsor.
The World Economic Forum has been floating this idea for some time and according to YouGov the concept appears to be popular with UK residents and is likely to get more traction.
It seems that Paris is actively changing towards 15-min pockets. I recall Paris being made up of circles of homes and business, so this may make the task easier… interesting to see how it evolves.
We pushed back on the whole of Dedworth becoming a Low Traffic Neighbourhood because of the forceful way it was introduced but I dare say with some real thought, pockets could be created.
The reality is that it will be far easier to implement in new developments and then slowly evolve into existing areas as opportunities allow.
This article gives us a historic timeline and makes for interesting reading.
And over in Bristol they are giving it some serious thought.
Personally I think the idea of a less stressful environment is a positive one. Trying to put square pegs in round holes by changing existing environments might be a tough one but inroads could be made with careful planning. Ensuring any new developments have this thinking at their heart makes sense.
Thank you.
Jon
