Building the 15-Minute City: Tracking Sustainable Urban Living in Toronto

What's better than a walkable city? Perhaps, one that's green too.

The 15-minute city paradigm is catching buzz (and heat) these days.

Despite criticism and potential pitfalls, the aim of the 15-minute city — a more sustainable, connected urban life — makes the topic ripe for inquiry.

But first, what exactly is a 15-minute city?

Naturally, it comes down to proximity. It's an urban planning strategy of building sustainable neighbourhoods where residents can access daily needs within a short walk, bike, or public transit ride from their homes.

The human-centric approach aims to foster social bonds, build community, and replace commutes with time for family and friends. By building grocery stores, schools, healthcare, and green spaces all within a 15-minute radius, dependency on cars is significantly reduced.

As urban populations boom and megacities expand, challenges related to urbanization, climate change, and social inequality loom. The 15-minute city model offers an intuitive solution and a recent study from the University of Toronto sheds a bit more light on this paradigm using North America's fourth largest city, Toronto, as a backdrop.

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Exploring the 15-minute City: Reducing Toronto's Reliance on Cars

Researchers Anton Yu and Christopher Higgins explored how the 15-minute model impacts travel behaviour in Toronto. Their findings suggest that sustainable travel becomes possible when at least 4-5 categories of essential services and amenities are located within a convenient distance.

Less driving, of course, means less congestion and pollution. So the researchers mapped out access to necessities across the city, revealing varying levels of accessibility and their impact on in-city travel.

"... it is only when neighbourhoods become “complete” in terms of sufficient access to 4–5 categories of amenities that we see rates of driving start to decrease."

Core Findings: More Amenities, Fewer Cars

• Neighbourhoods with many accessible amenities saw fewer residents relying on cars, instead favouring walking, cycling, or public transit.

• Central and densely populated areas typically had better access to services, making them well suited for the 15-minute city model.

• Outer suburban areas lagged behind, indicating a need for targeted improvements in urban planning to extend the benefits of the model city-wide.

“... driving rates decrease as sufficient walking, cycling, and transit access improves with the largest decrease associated with sufficient walking access to all five categories of necessities.”

Implications: Ongoing Urban Planning and Transport Management

While the paradigm may sound intuitive, the transition to a 15-minute city is not without significant challenges.

To support the 15-minute system, policy makers may look to incentivize businesses to set up in underserved areas or improve cycling infrastructure to make non-car travel more feasible and attractive.

The UofT study shows how the success of the 15-minute city will hinge on heavy integration of public transport and land-use planning. From understanding current usage patterns and rethinking zoning laws to infrastructure plans and transit design — networking all of these variables is crucial.

For example, Toronto has been implementing public transit route improvements and urban revitalization projects like the Bentway, a unique public space created beneath its cross-city highway, the Gardiner Expressway. The once derelict area now features a skating trail, performance spaces, and community gathering areas.

A critical pillar of the 15-minute city remains efficient public transit, and Toronto has made strides to monitor and improve its systems. For instance, its King Street Transit Priority Corridor project significantly improved streetcar peak travel times from 23 minutes in 2017 to 16 minutes in 2018. By 2023, travel times worsened to 26 minutes due to widespread construction and weak traffic rule enforcement (with a whopping 6,800+ daily traffic violations).

Toronto responded with a crackdown in late 2023, deploying traffic agents and advocating for automated enforcement by the province and better signage. By early 2024, travel times during peak hours dropped to as low as 17 minutes when agents were present.

The Problem of Equal Access

The study also highlights a common issue of the 15-minute city model: equality of access. Economically disadvantaged and affluent communities alike need access to quality services. It's a challenge that sometimes requires outside investments.

For instance, the United Way's Greater Toronto's Community Hubs, has been providing integrated services like health care, education, and social supports to underserved areas.

Photo: Paris, Pascal Bernardon

Global Perspectives: Growing Consensus Around the 15-Minute City

As a paradigm pioneer, Paris implemented the '15-Minute Paris' approach to reduce vehicle use and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, Melbourne has worked 20-minute neighbourhoods into its long-term planning to encourage physical activity, with the ultimate aim of reducing healthcare costs. Cities like Copenhagen have seen increases in cycling and pedestrian traffic, which helps support local shops and services.

Of course, the scalability and adaptability of the 15-minute model can vary across geographic, economic, and cultural factors. For example, high-density cities like Tokyo or compact European cities like Barcelona may find it easier to implement the 15-minute model compared to sprawling North American cities like Los Angeles and Houston.

Nonetheless, the city of Toronto provides valuable insights for cities looking to enhance urban life and sustainability with accessible, mixed-use neighbourhoods.

Future in Focus: Potential Expansion within Toronto

As cities grow and evolve, continued research into adaptive strategies will be key:

• Cities like Toronto, for instance, might address development of suburban neighborhoods, which typically have lower accessibility levels compared to core urban areas.

• Green infrastructure development and renewable energy projects can add also provide support. For example, green roofs, community gardens, and urban forests can help boost quality of life and environmental sustainability.

• Underutilized spaces like vacant lots or parking areas can be repurposed into community amenities or mixed-use developments.

• By encouraging development of flexible, multi-purpose spaces, cities like Toronto can adapt to the changing needs of the community over time.

With continued research and investment, high-growth cities like Toronto could serve as a blueprint for others with ballooning populations and growing sustainability needs.

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