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Advancing Health Equity through 15-min Cities and Chrono-urbanism

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Abstract

Implementing the 15-min city and chrono-urbanism aims to improve sustainability and quality of life by ensuring residents’ proximity to essential services. The 15-min city model is gaining global traction, with localized adaptations to suit communities’ needs. Beyond environmental motivations, 15-min cities can benefit public health through enhanced walkability, social cohesion, and universal accessibility. However, research examining the intersection of health and equity among chrono-urbanism and the 15-min city remains limited. This study aims to develop a framework to integrate health and equity into chrono-urbanism and 15-min city plans. We describe the potential benefits and risks of the 15-min approach for urban planning, daily behaviors, and health outcomes. Potential benefits of 15-min cities for health equity include proximity to destinations, increased physical activity, strengthened social capital, reduced emissions, and traffic calming. Risks that must be mitigated include gentrification, variable proximity definitions, infrastructure upgrades, and inadequate cultural sensitivity. Recommendations to integrate 15-min cities into planning activities include conducting comprehensive baseline assessments, aligning goals with sustainability, economic development, flexible zoning, inclusive public spaces, and diverse community engagement tactics. We recommend interventions targeting marginalized communities and developing standardized measurement tools for comparison, monitoring, and evaluation. A nuanced, equitable approach to implementing 15-min cities can help urban plans support health equity across diverse populations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    David Rojas-Rueda

  2. Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    David Rojas-Rueda & Michelle Norberciak

  3. Emoza LLC, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Emily Morales-Zamora

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  1. David Rojas-Rueda
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  2. Michelle Norberciak
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  3. Emily Morales-Zamora
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Contributions

David Rojas-Rueda: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing – original draft. Michelle Norberciak: investigation, visualization, writing – review and editing.

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Correspondence to David Rojas-Rueda.

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Rojas-Rueda, D., Norberciak, M. & Morales-Zamora, E. Advancing Health Equity through 15-min Cities and Chrono-urbanism. J Urban Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-024-00850-2

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