15-minute cities approach? The Case Study of Athens

Abstract

This proposal focuses its research interest on the concept of the 15-minute city. This is an undoubtedly innovative concept, proposed by the French-Colombian urban planner Carlos Moreno (ville du quart d'heure) and which, despite the criticism it has received from an anthropocentric point of view, is applied in whole or in part – in different variations – in many cities around the world (Paris, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Shanghai, etc.).

The 15-minute city aims to create communities where people have access to basic daily activities and needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. This approach falls into several directions of sectoral policies and strategies, such as climate change, urban resilience, sustainable mobility, etc.

This article examines how the 15-minute city can be implemented in Greek cities, using the city of Athens as a case study. In this context, the existing strategies for Athens are examined and refined, such as the Urban Resilience Strategy, the Athens Resilience Strategy for 2030, the Covenant of Mayors for the Climate, etc. In addition, the contribution of the National Pedestrian and Cycling Strategy to the 15-minute city concept will be assessed.

The benefits of such a scheme, especially in the case of Athens, are many, such as reducing traffic congestion, reducing energy demand and adapting to climate change, to name but a few. However, despite being a people-centred approach, the 15-minute city also raises some social issues that require innovative urban planning approaches, such as the difficulty of moving people with special needs.

To achieve the deeper goal of the 15-minute city in Athens, it is necessary to change the traditional way of urban planning (city centre, suburbs, residential areas, commercial areas, leisure areas), avoiding social exclusion phenomena and gentrification practises. To summarise, the implementation of the 15-minute city differs each time by the more specific policies applied, as cities differ from each other in social, economic, environmental and urban planning terms. What remains and is applied is the specific urban planning methodology, which also needs to evolve and be further researched.