REALTORS® & Smart Growth on common ground SPRING 2021 TheThe 15-Minute15-Minute CityCity AMENITIESAMENITIES WITHINWITHIN AA WALKWALK ENABLINGENABLING DENSITYDENSITY ACCESSACCESS TOTO OPENOPEN SPACESSPACES Everything Close to Home Walkable communities are not a new idea. Until a 100 years ago, that is how our towns and cities developed. The development of these communities was an organic process that took place out of necessity, for there were no other options for getting around to get one’s daily bread or buy a pair of shoes. Then the automobile came into mass production and the pendulum started to swing. The National Interstate and Defense Highway Act of 1956 kicked things into high gear and the car became king and people spread out. Fast forward to the present and the pendulum seems to This edition of On Common Ground explores the various be swinging back. In the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF components of the 15-minute city mentioned above, such as REALTORS® 2020 Community & Transportation Preferences zoning changes that will be necessary to produce the housing Survey, half of respondents indicated that they would prefer that is needed, as well as the connectivity of transportation to live in a walkable community. The polling, conducted in and the importance of nearby green space for the inhabitants. February and August, revealed that this preference held true immediately before the pandemic, as well as five months into The concept also dovetails well with the increasing number of it, though millennials with children did show an increased seniors for whom walking is good and driving can be problematic interest in moving to a more suburban location. and have a growing interest in aging in place. Another trend that plays nicely into the creation of the 15-minute neighborhood is Sometimes, a new angle on an old idea breathes new life the repurposing of shopping malls into mixed-use facilities. Add into a concept. Enter the 15-minute neighborhood, a place in the possible conversion of some office buildings to residential where residents can access everything they need within a and retail, following the pandemic-induced reduction in demand 15-minute walk of their residence. From a smart growth for office space, and there is an opportunity for a greater mix point of view, the concept of the 15-minute neighborhood of uses within proximity. seems like a worthy aspiration. Getting there will be a journey of retooling the built environment to create a range The evolution of a community into a 15-minute neighbor- of housing options at a range of price points and retail, hood may take a decade or two, but the virtues of heading service and office options all within close proximity. How in that direction seem worth the effort of setting course in do we get there? that direction. Editor On Common Ground is published twice a year by the Advocacy Group Hugh Morris of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR), and is distrib- Manager, Community Development uted free of charge. The publication presents a wide range of views on smart & Growth growth issues, with the goal of encouraging a dialogue among REALTORS®, [email protected] elected officials and other interested citizens. The opinions expressed inOn Contributing Editor Common Ground are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect Christine Windle the opinions or policy of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, Director, Community Outreach its members or affiliate organizations. Distribution To order additional copies of On Common Ground, please e-mail us at [email protected] or contact Catherine Mesick at [email protected]. On Common Ground is available online NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® at www.nar.realtor/publications/on-common-ground 500 New Jersey Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 On Common Ground is also available in digital format optimized for ©2021 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® tablets and smartphones at www.oncommonground-digital.org 2 ON COMMON GROUND SPRING 2021 On Common Ground Spring 2021 The 15-Minute City Old-fashioned compact, convenient, mixed-use development for a modern, post-pandemic, walkable world 4 by Steve Wright Implementing 15-Minute Cities: Where to Start? 12 by David Goldberg Inclusion, Equity and Accessibility Ensuring the 15-minute City Serves All 18 by Steve Wright Fifteen Minutes to Your Happy Place Access to Open Space 26 by G. M. Filisko Transportation in the 15-Minute City Making pedestrians the priority 32 by Joan Mooney The Best Recipe for 15-Minute Livability A mix of strategies, including adaptive reuse and data analysis, is imperative 38 by Brian E. Clark Enabling Density 46 by Brian E. Clark Affordable Walkability 54 by Brad Broberg Fostering the 15-Minute City in Small Towns, Rural Areas and Suburbia 60 On Common Ground thanks the following contributors and organizations for photographs, illustrations ® by Kurt Buss and artist renderings reprinted in this issue: Amber Burton Alfred, Houston Association of REALTORS ; Cassie Ballew, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability; Candy Cole, Orlando Regional REALTOR® Foundation; Eden Dabbs, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability; Katie Howell, Take Action: Chicago Association of REALTORS®; Helen D. Johnson, Michigan Municipal League Foundation; Fred Jones, Michael Baker International; Kendall Keating, Center for Planning Excellence; Kathleen Mayell, City Making smart growth happen 66 of Minneapolis Public Works; Colin Moore, City of Neptune Beach, Fla.; Nadine Scodro, Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®; Todd Scott, Detroit Greenways Coalition; and Jeremy Thomas, City of Detroit Parks & Recreation. Back Cover: Thank you to the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX). Jeannette Dubinin, director of Resilience and Adaptation for CPEX, created the 20-minute bingo card to help everyday people identify shopping, health services, schools and daily conveniences within a safe, 20-minute walk. 3 the Old-fashioned Compact, Convenient, 15-MinuTe15-MinuTe mixed-use development for a modern, post-pandemic, ciTY:ciTY: Wa lkable World Paris, the 15-minute city illustration by Micael Fresque By Steve Wright he 15-minute city harkens back to an era when 15-minute concept emphasizes meeting all needs on foot, the predominant mode of travel was by foot via bicycle or by using public transit. and people could meet most of their needs Because areas that are amenity-, activity- and transit- within a 15-minute walk of their residence. rich tend to become very expensive to live and work in, The concept, introduced by Colombian- many cities are grappling with how they can ensure equity, French scientist Carlos Moreno and being inclusion and accessibility in these economically powerful Trapidly implemented by Socialist Paris Mayor Anne zones. (See “Inclusion, Equity And Accessibility — Ensur- Hidalgo, has taken root in many urban areas around the ing The 15-Minute City Serves All” article on page 18.) world — including the United States. In rapidly growing and urbanizing Charlotte, N.C., it’s the 10-minute neighborhood. In Louisiana, with more The 15-minute concept small and medium cities spread out and developed to sub- emphasizes meeting all needs urban standards, the goal is the 20-minute neighborhood. on foot, via bicycle or by using Whether the goal is focused on increasing a mix of uses and amenities citywide or in key neighborhoods, the public transit. 4 ON COMMON GROUND SPRING 2021 For decades, smart growth policy, the movement of New specializing in complex systems and innovation at Paris Urbanism and other policies have tried to steer cities away - Panthéon Sorbonne University. from the high cost of sprawl and car ownership. The pan- “Cities should be designed or redesigned so that within demic has accelerated the trend toward creating more the distance of a 15-minute walk or bike ride, people pedestrian and bike space, ensuring each neighborhood has should be able to live the essence of what constitutes the open/park/recreation space and greening streetscapes and urban experience: to access work, housing, food, health, more to create a healthier environment that fights obesity education, culture and leisure,” he said in an exclusive and other diseases contributed to by car-dominated lifestyles. interview. The rapid response needed to cope with COVID-19 has Moreno has four guiding principles of the 15-minute city: given many urban cores the opportunity to quickly con- vert traffic lanes into pedestrian-bike space. To cope with 1. Ecology: for a green and sustainable city. social distancing while preserving main street businesses, 2. Proximity: to live with reduced distance to the transformation has often been at a warp-speed pace other activities. — compared to the usual array of public hearings and 3. Solidarity: to create links between people. months of review by myriad agencies. 4. Participation: actively involve citizens in the transformation of their neighborhood. “Using only paint and screw-in markers, nearly 100 miles of Parisian roads were temporarily reallocated to cyclists “This is in the tradition of Jane Jacobs,” Moreno said of in the early months of the pandemic — a revolution in the legendary urban activist-author who published “The urban reprogramming. It was later announced that the Death and Life of Great American Cities” in 1961. “She changes would become permanent,” wrote Carlo Ratti, developed this idea for livable cities — very vibrant, with co-founder of the international design and innovation green public space, social uses, different activities. The office Associati and director of the Senseable City Lab at internet, technology and economic system is very, very MIT, and Richard Florida, professor at the University of different than her times, but this is still relevant today.” Toronto’s School of Cities and Rotman School of Man- Moreno said people are living in hard times of a pan- agement in Project Syndicate. demic, job loss, income disparity, long commutes and Moreno, father of the 15-minute city and Hidalgo’s special other pressures.