He was the star of the last international summit of C40 mayors in Buenos Aires: the 15-minute city competed with Barcelona’s supervillains for the attention of international mayors. Paris In recent years, it has become the benchmark for this new model of urbanism.what’s in residents can meet their needs (work, consumption, leisure, education and health) around 15 minuteseither on foot or by bike. The mayor of Paris, socialist Anne Hidalgo, told the mayors of other metropolises about this initiative, which has some similarities with neighborhood policies. It was taken from Barcelona and considered an example that macro cities in Latin America such as Bogota or Buenos Aires should follow.
Since the pandemic, this formula developed by the Franco-Colombian city planner Carlos Moreno has been on the lips of many leaders. Hidalgo made it one of his banners in the 2020 municipal elections. There is a 15-minute section in Paris City Hall dedicated to the city. Many other French cities—many with socialist and environmental rulers—such as Nantes, Montpellier, or Mulhouse—followed this example and have councilors who are almost exclusively dedicated to the cause: designing closer cities and where residents can meet their needs without using a motor vehicle.
“Since the health crisis, there has been a real demand from residents themselves to reduce the circadian rhythm and improve their quality of life,” explains El Periódico de Catalunya of the Prensa Ibérica group. Having prepared his doctoral thesis on the policies of promoting cycling and urban transformation in Rennes University and Paris, Dr. Although it was designed before, The 15-minute city concept became fashionable as the number of minutes increased. telecommunication due to covid-19. “Since then, a sedentary lifestyle has grown and this encourages people to prioritize other means other than cars or motorcycles to shop or pick up the kids from school,” he adds.
school in the center
In the French capital, however, this transformation started from schools. “The school is the capital of the neighborhood. Whether you have children or not, everything revolves around school hours,” said Hidalgo at the Buenos Aires summit. Perhaps less well known than the closure of vehicles on the banks of the Seine. Limit to 30 km/h One of the main transformations in Paris in recent years, maximum speed pedestrianization of most streetsor sections where training centers are located.
“Of the 300 such streets that will be closed, 168 have been pedestrianized – 114 in the past two years,” says Marrec. These changes require a significant investment of around 400,000 Euros for each street. They form part of a more ambitious operation called ‘Embellir vos quartiers’ (‘Beautify your neighborhoods’). plant trees and build multiple bike paths.
Also, promoted reuse of school areas for other activities beyond the educational ones. Since the spring of last year, the terraces have been reopened on weekends for every citizen. The aim of this measure: to offer new recreational areas in the city with the highest building density in Europe. If parents want to play with their children, they no longer need to go to the big parks in Paris. Currently, the playgrounds of nearly 50 schools and 30 kindergartens are open on Saturdays.
“marketing operation”
However, “The fact of giving buildings new uses is nothing new, the City Council has been trying since the 1990s,” recalls Martin Vanier, a professor at the Paris School of Urbanism and quite skeptical about the 15-minute city project. “In reality, Parisian neighborhoods have always stood out for their proximity and concentration of shops and services. Paris has been a quarter-hour city since the end of the 18th century,” says Vanier. In fact, it crosses over the concept ” marketing operation discovers an ever-present reality in the capital of France, known for decades as one of the European cities where people move the most on foot.
“In Latin American metropolises, where services are so unevenly distributed, I can understand their interest in this 15-minute city concept,” this geographer says. “But in the case of France, it is much more interesting to promote this concept of proximity in rural or surrounding areas”, eg ‘suburbs’ suffering from a lack of public services and local businesses.
One of the most common criticisms of 15 minutes of Paris is this: strengthen the gentrification process, especially in a town that has expelled a large portion of its more modest residents for its professional appeal and high property prices. Currently, the French political class is concerned about the disturbance that will be imposed in the coming years. low emission zones in all major cities. Older and more polluting vehicles will be banned from circulating in them. It’s a measure that will reduce pollution, but is likely to provoke protests similar to the yellow vest riot.
Source: Informacion
Brandon Hall is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a cultural aficionado who writes about the latest news and developments in the world of art, literature, music, and more. With a passion for the arts and a deep understanding of cultural trends, Brandon provides engaging and thought-provoking articles that keep his readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the cultural world.