Just in a Minute

This project is one of several funded under the Driving Urban Transitions programme of the Urban Europe collaboration that focuses on the 15 Minute City (15mC): the idea that our towns and cities can be planned for a mix of uses, at medium to high density, with good walking, cycling and public transport, so that – if we choose – we can get to the activities we need within a 15 minute journey by one of those modes. A key part of this concept is to ensure that the services that we need – education, healthcare, shops – are located close to where we live. However, the organisations and companies that plan and deliver these services may not have the 15mC as their main objective, instead, for example, trying to maximise the efficient delivery of services on one large site that requires people to travel to it. Just in a Minute is a mixed-method and interdisciplinary project which brings together social scientists and civil engineers, municipalities, regional transport authorities and NGOs to address this conundrum in the planning of the 15mC. The project aims to develop guidelines, and policy instruments for urban planners so that they have a more developed understandings of social and environmental justice when planning for the 15mC. The project plans to: • Map accessibility by sustainable modes of transport for different social groups, • Understand the various motivations of organisations in deciding where to locate public services • Analyse inhabitants’ perceived and actual movements within the 15mC; and • Add environmental data and a health impact assessment to scenario development for a socially-just 15mC. The consortium is made up of universities and other organizations from Sweden, Norway Poland, France, Turkey, and Spain. The mix of countries contributes to a wider understanding of different planning frameworks and guarantees the development of policy instruments that can be transferred between different national planning organizations and contexts.

The proposal is a mixed-method and interdisciplinary project which brings together social scientists and civil engineers, municipalities, regional transport authorities and NGOs. The project aims to develop guidelines, and policy instruments for urban planners to incorporate more elaborated understandings of social and environmental justice when planning for the 15mC. From mapping accessibility by sustainable modes of transport for different social groups, the novelty of the project lies in bringing localization decision making of where to locate services and amenities; to incorporate analysis of inhabitants perceived and factual movements and finally in adding environmental data and a health impact assessment to the scenario development for a just 15mC. The consortium is made up by universities and other organizations from Sweden, Norway Poland, France, Turkey, and Spain in the west. The mix of countries contributes to a wider understanding of different planning contexts and guarantees the development of robust and transferrable policy instruments between different national planning organizations and contexts.