The Potential Role of Railway Stations and Public Transport Nodes in the Development of “15-Minute Cities”

In 2016, Carlos Moreno proposed the concept of “15-minute cities” based on the principles of proximity, diversity, density, and ubiquity. In fact, he re-formulated (“re-invented”) some of the already existing planning principles, making them recognized and desired by non-professionals. Moreno, however, paid little attention to the external connectivity of neighborhoods, assuming that most needs would be satisfied locally. This paper aims to discuss the concept of “15-minute cities” from the transport planning point of view and investigate how the concept can contribute to such planning. The research review conducted in this paper suggests that similar actions in the past caused a modal shift from the use of cars to public transport, rather than a radical limitation of total transport needs. To simplify, if a neighborhood is well designed, people are more likely to walk, ride a bike, and use public transport, but the majority will still commute outside of the neighborhood for work. In the metropolis of the ideal “15-minute city”, Barcelona, the majority of the inhabitants travel to work either by car or public transport, which proves that they need to move outside the neighborhood. This leads us to the conclusions that (1) “15-minute cities” should incorporate the transit-oriented development concept and include public transport nodes, such as railways or underground stations, as the central point of walkable, multifunctional neighborhoods, and (2) railway/underground station planners should pay more attention to the creation of a proper mix of services at and around the stations according to “15-minute cities” principles. In the future, there should also be more emphasis on re-allocating workplaces to neighborhoods, as well as on researching the actual impact of the (improved and current) “15-minute cities” design on transport volumes.

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