Imagine if residents of the modern day metropolis could reach any relevant service get anywhere they needed to go in less than 15 minutes, either by bike or on foot. This may sound realistic in certain cities, but quite utopian in others. Still, the 15-minute project continues to gain political traction. Today in Mantova, Luca Molinari, architect, talks with Carlos Moreno, urbanist, about his book 15-Minute City/Ville du quart d'heure.

As Moreno says, in Latin America more than 84% of the total population lives in cities and similar percentages are registered in North America and Europe. More and more people are leaving rural areas, leading to rapid urban growth worldwide. Human beings have an innate need for cities, says the French-Colombian author. This dates from primitive villages to the cities of today.

It’s important to believe in progress when talking about cities; they certainly have problems, but at the same time they have the resources to create solutions to those problems. Climate change, economic inequality, social exclusion of certain fringes of population. These are the main issues that, according to Moreno, modern cities must tackle. Moreno outlines what can be done to solve, or at least to work towards solving, these problems. It is essential to return to live frugally, to learn to live using what we already have.

Circularity of resources is a key concept for the urbanist, but it requires a rethinking of the linear modes of consumption incentivised by the capitalist system. Polycentric and equally accessible are other words the author uses when indicating the path to a new urbanism.

Forward thinking political figures are working to make this dream a reality. Moreno mentions Anne Hidalgo, current mayor of Paris, with whom he has collaborated for several years. There’s much work to be done, great effort is needed, but the potential positive outcomes are even bigger: more sustainable cities, increased quality of life, new space-time balance.