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The trade-off between sustainability and social segregation in the 15-minute city

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Using large-scale global positioning system (GPS) mobility data, we examined the feasibility and societal impact of the ‘15-minute city’ model across US urban areas. Our findings highlight the environmental benefits of localized living but also its risk of intensifying socioeconomic segregation.

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Fig. 1: Local trips in the USA.

References

  1. Moreno, C. et al. Introducing the “15-minute city,” sustainability, resilience and place identity in future post-pandemic cities. Smart Cities 4, 93–111 (2021). This paper outlines the 15-minute city concept.

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  2. Allam, Z. et al. The ‘15-Minute City’ concept can shape a net-zero urban future. Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun. 9, 1–5 (2022). This paper argues for the 15-minute city model as a solution for sustainability.

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  3. Bertaud, A. The last urban utopia: the 15-minute city. Urban Reform Institute, https://urbanreforminstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/15mincity-bertaud.pdf (2022). This article offers a critical perspective of the 15-minute city.

  4. Glaeser, E. The 15-minute city is a dead end — cities must be places of opportunity for everyone. LSE Blogs, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2021/05/28/the-15-minute-city-is-a-dead-end-cities-must-be-places-of-opportunity-for-everyone/ (2021). This article offers a critical perspective of the 15-minute city.

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Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Abbiasov, T. et al. The 15-minute city quantified using human mobility data. Nat. Hum. Behav. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01770-y (2023).

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The trade-off between sustainability and social segregation in the 15-minute city. Nat Hum Behav 8, 418–419 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01771-x

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