The 15-minute approach as a strategy to regenerate publicness of marginal districts: reflections from a case study

Abstract

The 15-Minute City has been significantly successful, partly as a result of the pandemic’s impact on urban living, following the well-known application in Paris. It is argued that, once the pandemic is over, promoting proximity-led living becomes a strategy to restore quality in neighborhoods where it is structurally lacking. Standard facilities of the public city need nowadays to be restored in light of housing rights related to climate well-being, health, inclusion and, more broadly, sustainability. Where pubic administrations lack political and/or economic power, as well as sufficient human resources and technical capabilities to promote the extensive model of the 15-Minute City, a more localized approach is preferable. This approach should prioritize spatial and environmental justice criteria in the transformation process. Therefore, we present analysis and interpretations useful for enhancing the “15-Minute Neighborhood Approach” in a periphery where clusters of unfinished or abandoned facilities provide an opportunity to experiment with forms of resistance to marginalization. 

Keywords: 15-minute neighborhood, public city, standard facility, collaborative governance, tactical urbanism