 Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening everybody based on where you're based on the world and Welcome to this session to our dialogue on the 15 minute city My name is Carlo Ratti and professor at MIT. We ran a lab called sensible city lab In today we'll talk about a 15 minute city to get together with Sally cap Lord mayor of the city of Melbourne in Australia with Matt Hague chair of the executive board at Mott McDonald group in the UK and With a runabha gosh whose funder in CEO or the council on energy environment and water in India So just to begin let's take a few minutes to talk about the 15 minute city Well, the 15 minute cities have been talked about talked about a lot over the past couple of years especially, you know in in circles dealing with planning with urban planning with cities in government like many things Many great little things in the world. It has a French origin a name la ville du quart d'oeuvre It actually was theorized by Carlos Moreno and Annie Dalgode mayor of Paris over the past couple of years Especially during the pandemic When we all hope that our city were a bit closer to us a 15 minute cities based on the idea that we can build Neighborhoods where everything we need or most of the things we need in our lives Can be reached very quickly you can describe it as an isochron In isochron is an area that you can reach within as the name says within 15 minutes in this case And so you can think about the city as kind of a fractal Organies where you've got different neighborhoods 50 million neighborhoods that together Peace together a bigger city as a fractal again in a fractal way Now the 15 minute city has been discussed a lot has been following many cities is a principle has been now followed in many planning You know initiatives around the planet Recently, we've also seen a few more critical voices about a 15 minute city about the challenges You know clearly if you were to do a merely 15 minute city So if people were not to go out of the 15 minute bubble We could also increase segregation or somehow, you know a 15 minute city would become then the equivalent of a village the city itself is Is also the richness that happens beyond the 15 minutes having said that, you know, that's just as a simple framing for For for the concept really I wanted to start by asking Sally Your mayor of Melbourne as I said Sally, you know your your city First of all is usually in the top ranking globally in terms of quality of life And your city has been promoting over the years a concept quite similar to the 15 minute city You know looking at neighborhood 20 minute neighborhoods and and again, you know similar principles of what we're discussing today So perhaps could elaborate on that and how do you see that the your approach to planning over the past 20-30 years in Melbourne has helped make it more livable Thanks, Carlo. It's an honor to join you on this panel today and to talk about 15 minute cities I want to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Wurrung people who are the traditional owners of the land on which I'm presenting From today, we are proud that Melbourne has had a long history of being recognized as one of the most livable cities in the world But it's not something that we've achieved by chance in fact three decades ago We were described as a moribund city in a rust bucket state Since then we've been very thoughtful and deliberate about the way that we design our city spaces to drive Aspirational economic social and environmental outcomes for our community There are a number of very intentional factors that contribute to this We are devotees of mixed use communities and planning schemes that support the Co-location of work, live and play and that underpins our 20-minute city We do prioritize active and public transport Infrastructure so that people can easily walk or catch public transport to the services They need to work and of course to recreation and we note that about 90% of the trips done around our CBD are done by foot We cherish unique local character and really do our best to make sure that we've promoted local economies and And support them to flourish We foster opportunities for people of all ages backgrounds and abilities to be able to connect and engage Which is one of the reasons why we're renowned as a as a festival and event city as well And we like to plot adaptability and sustainability Into every decision we make so that our city and our people are ready to meet current and future challenges We remain committed Carlo to measuring ourselves against the global Sustainable standards and we were the first city in Australia to pledge to report our progress against the United Nations sustainable development goals I was dismayed to read from the World Economic Forum that in 2020 the first year in a long time that we've seen a backward step in the achievement of the SDGs and We know that the COVID crisis has impacted Many cities and their ability to keep driving those goals forward But we want to use the crisis as many do as a catalyst to improving the adaptability of our city by going to the next level And planning for each of our neighborhoods to be very distinctive in their 20 minute Identity Over the past year with my great strides and cementing our reputation as a livable city one more minute Carlo we've fast-tracked the delivery of 44 kilometers of protected bicycle lanes We've endorsed an affordable housing strategy and set up an entity to make sure we have more affordable housing Particularly for key workers and we're turning our Yarra waterfront Into a lush and lively public realm for kilometers of new public open space And we're using our urban forest strategy to increase our canopy cover All of those things are elements of what we are doing to maintain our livable status but also to enshrine our 20 minute status and We believe it's now more important than ever that we create connected cohesive cities full of possibility. Thank you, Carlo Thank you. Thank you very much, Sally And you know what you said especially on the mix use developments to to combine different functions in the neighborhood Is is vital if you want to have neighborhoods where within a 15 minute walk or bike ride We can reach all the most of the things we need in life And homogenous is boring. Carlo. Anyway Absolutely and also when you mix things you you that that allows to use much better space as well because you things Compensate over time. So it allows you to schedule better the city And that's one of the things I I always admire in in Melbourne how rich and always present Urban life public life is but going from from from Melbourne. I wanted to ask Mike Mike, you know with your company, you're consulting with governments Especially city government governments globally. So how do you see this idea being developed and being being? Kind of used by by cities in different parts of the planet Yeah, no good question. I you know, I think the answer that in some ways would have been different 18 months ago I do think that kovat is as has made a difference You know people talk about pandemics being great accelerators of trends that were Already happening and and if you think of you know the climate emergency If you think of social outcomes as a response to inequality, these things have all accelerated. I think in the last 18 months So that's good because I think there's a driver I think there's a very clear driver around them 15 minutes is You know, we're seeing social out. We're seeing social outcomes coming to the fore in our clients thinking Kind of all over the place and you know whether and it's not always about the the the city's per se It might be about improving resilience to particular impacts of climate change, you know that we're seeing And across the globe in southeast Asia, for example Um, you know providing rapid public transport to less advantaged communities in places like los angeles So I could give the the list kind of goes on but but this social change thing I think is acting as a as a driver I do think it's pretty clear that developing 15-minute cities requires a really deep and broad understanding of Of the sort of transformations that we that might be maybe required and And you know, and that's not straightforward It's it's it's complex and certainly in in our roles planners and And engineers making these transformations real really requires an in-depth understanding and And and I do think and I'll touch on data in a minute as well But I think data is part of this trying to make sense of that complexity You know, we've got a great advantage nowadays with digital technology to be able to use data to make sense of What's going on? um, you know, sally already talks about the the merits of 15 minutes minute cities and and you know, I guess they're clear and they're They're they're well rehearsed and of course there's the big environmental and health benefits that um That that they bring as as as well But but there are challenges, you know and call us you you touched on this color that you touched on this There are real challenges. I think recognizing that local differences are A fundamental is um is is really important and those differences from city city from country's country But also, you know within a within a city. There isn't a 15 minute city kind of blueprint That will work everywhere and and so we really need to make sure that we treat each City each neighborhood each community in a different different way I think as as we've been involved in in in this there are some, you know, kind of despite the differences There are some really important useful kind of common goals And and again, yeah, I I think these um these came out in the discussion about melbourne But I think firstly, you know livable and sustainable cities need to promote equality and access An opportunity from you know from people from different sections of society Um, you know, maybe that's obvious, but it's not always um easy to do. I think second secondly You know the pandemic has has definitely highlighted the importance of building kind of social resilience and around those um social inequalities and and thirdly I already mentioned the the climate emergency and and and demands, you know, that that's um that that brings We often hear people talk about building back better and building back greener certainly here in the uk You know, these are um, these are well rehearsed terms um, but delivering on them is um is is is somewhat and somewhat different So I guess that um, you know as engineers and planners We know that it's a massive challenge to transform all already kind of densely populated cities and and cities with um kind of established land use and um an established Transport cities so there's transport systems And and I suppose we also recognize that there are real concerns that you know, some of these models for planning can You know, they can they can do more harm than good. They can really alienate already marginalized Communities so any transformation really needs to to take into account, you know It needs to take all these things into account and be planned carefully and maybe done in an evolutionary sort of sort of manner I mentioned digital earlier and um, you know one thing that We talk a lot about is is um a kind of triple access type type model to to developing 15 minute cities where we're not just talking about kind of physical Mobility and spatial proximity, but we're also talking about digital connectivity And that's another reason why the pandemic has changed things a lot People aren't just thinking about access to whatever it might be now Whether through, you know, the locality or or or that physical mobility, but but digital connectivity So that's something we perhaps don't touch on at some point as as well So, you know, just to finish off. I mean in the uk, you know, we're um, we're working, you know on on with several cities and in terms of Creating this 15 or 20 minutes and cities we're doing this with Birmingham at the moment And and there's no doubt that you know that the Birmingham's a good a good candidate There are many things that that it has in its favor including a quite dense transport network, which um, which Certainly certainly helps but all of those challenges that I've talked about in the last sort of two or three minutes Have absolutely come to the fore, you know in in in terms of doing the consultation around Around Birmingham. So, you know, this isn't this isn't straightforward. It's complex and and Requires a deep understanding Of the cities the communities the neighborhoods that you're working with. Thank you. Thank you, Maggie And just just a quick thing, you know, you talked about density And if you look at Birmingham or Paris or, uh, you know Melbourne, there's certainly critical density Also some of the cities traditionally were already organized around neighborhoods But you know, do you think you could transform say los angeles with very low density such such a spread such a sprawl Could it be transforming into a 15 minute walking city? I it's like I said, there's no blueprint. Is that I don't think there's any blueprint, you know, we Well, so do you think it's possible do you think it's possible? I think I think I think anything is possible As long as you you you recognize some of these key kind of goals around around being careful that you That you promote equality and you don't actually generate inequality accidentally almost So yes, I think I think you can do it, but I think you need to flex the model Um, you know, I saw in someone about London recently and how London actually is a whole series specialist centers, you know, the west end for media and the city of London for The finance and and and so on. I think you need to sometimes work with what you've got Rather than trying to impose what might feel like an ideal solution. Yeah. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Mike. And well, you know Arumba What about the global south, you know, your experience in India? You see how do you see the same concept being, you know, viable in in the global south and also more generally, you know inequality can be a big issue I'm thinking about some Indian cities And so is it going to increase in equality if you think about cities with these kinds of neighborhoods Then people stay mostly in the neighborhoods, but then you know the rich may stay more in one neighborhood And you know the poor in another one. So what's your take on it? I thank you, Carlos. I hope you can hear me and many thanks for having me on this panel I think what you've touched upon is very important because ultimately whether it's a 15 minute city or a 50 minute city It really depends on, you know, how you bring that diversity Into where you live, where you work and where you go for entertainment But one of the things that is common across the global south Is the nature in which the urbanization is unfolding? Of course, if you look at say sub-Saharan Africa um, you have about half the population which is urbanized but if you look at Latin America That number grows up to 85% For South Asia, it's under 50% right now So the question for us Is what is the kind of city and what is the kind of urbanization? We will then adopt as we become more urbanized, right? And let's take transport for a second because that's I think at the heart of bringing that equity question Into city design again in Africa you have about 40 to 50% of Transport is basically non motorized walking or cycling in Latin America again, it could be Fairly high depending on how the city has been designed But in Asia where I reside, um, you know, there are Some parts of India for instance where you know 60% Of urban trips are basically non-motorized and yet developed Asia like Singapore or South Korea You have very low shares of non-motorized transport So effectively what you're doing is the way you're designing a transport system can Bring communities of different sort of groups closer together or can widen the disparity One more thing that is that matters here I would say in thinking this through is the actual kind of lack of capacity I mean if you take Australia and you know what Sally was talking about you have about You know 20 or town planners for 100,000 population in A lot of the developing world in Africa and Asia that number Has lowest five So now what is the town planner doing is is the town planner merely just kind of getting roads built out and buildings built out or Do you have the capacity to think about that integrated Work life entertainment story along with Equity at the heart of it another dimension that will be critical on the equity front will be how we deal with elements of the negative Of sort of environmental externalities Whether you take a pollution whether you take how waste is treated whether you take how waste is disposed whether you look at even indoor cooking fuels These are things that developed world Perhaps does not have to deal with so much But in the developing world these have a big impact in the kinds of areas of the city That are more polluted than others The kinds of population that are exposed to these negative Externalities versus those who are living in greener enclaves So I would simply say if you focus on the transportation side if you focused on Building up the city planning Capacity and if you focused on mitigating those negative environmental Externalities then I think we can build 15-minute cities, but which are also more equitable than otherwise. Thank you Thank you rune about there's a question from the audience. I'm seeing here I'd like to ask you and you know, it's about how to remodel unplanned cities and here I believe that the audience means whoever asked the question means, you know informality There's a lot of informality in the global south. So so where do you start in that case? I Think that's a very important question, especially on the last issue. I talked about waste, right? There's a huge informal waste management system in many cities of the developing world now you if you just Overnight replace it with a so-called, you know top-down model Then you're actually effectively kicking out, you know, tens of thousands of people out of employment And not necessarily guaranteeing a cost optimal approach Now, how do you bring that into your city planning? That goes to the heart of how you build a circular economy in the developing south, right? So how does kind of more advanced technology for waste management integrate with a very labor-intensive waste collection system? right Which does not exclude an entire part of the of the of the city or of the city's workforce. Thank you again It cannot be only an engineered solution has to be a lot more collaborative Thank you. Thank you. I would say somehow it seems me you're saying you need to embrace informality and then from there try to Upgrade and improve the city. We got a couple of minutes. It's still a couple of minutes There's another question for the audience I'd like to ask maybe this can be shared between Mike and Sally and the question is what are the barriers to implementing the 15 minutes sitting? And how can it be finance and I wonder maybe Mike if you could comment just in 30 seconds on the barriers You mentioned it before but you know if in a in a nutshell and then Sally may be on the financing of it We've got a couple of minutes left Yeah, I think that the the barriers we've kind of talked about I think you you have to embrace the Informality that we and that we just Discussed and I think embrace the and the fact that you know, there will be different solutions for Different cities. I think and Sally can talk about the detail of the financing But but financing is also kind of critical because clearly private sector investment is is a big part of any City development and certainly when you start looking at 15 minutes cities, it's it's massively relevant But you've got to be really careful that that investment isn't attracted Into those places that are more advantaged perhaps than other places So to try and get private sector investment into less advantaged areas Is is is tricky and then it all also starts to be you know You know as dr. Dosh was talking about the the issues with how those transport links work so that you can actually have have cross community transport links between the less The less advantaged areas and the more advantaged areas Thank you my Sally Yes The financing can be very challenging because To have great 20 minute suburbs the public realm and public infrastructure Needs to be delivered and delivered well The financing will normally come from usual levers Most of which start with a t tax of some sort. We might call them developer contributions. For example They could come from special purpose taxes set up for the infrastructure necessary to develop in certain areas And it can come from General purpose taxes depending on how we are budgeting Here at town hall or state government. What's really important? I'm picking up on some of Mike's comments is a balance because actually in In Taking that finance to deliver in the public realm We also can't make it so expensive that private sector don't want to come in to deliver What is still essential pieces of those urban renewals and those 20 minute suburbs Private dwellings commercial premises Employment zones innovation zones et cetera. So it's a really fine balance and something we're challenged with at the moment with two new urban renewal precincts We have within the city But getting setting those suburbs up for success in the long term has to be the number one priority Thank you. Thank you Sally. Uh, well, you know, it is now time to wrap up In to close this section, maybe I'll I'll like to share some of the the key takeaways for me The first one is, you know, there's not a single blueprint for the 15 min city. Every city is different than trying to implement A 15 minute approach in Melbourne in Paris in Birmingham in Los Angeles We really need to start from the local condition The second thing that came up is infrastructure is key. So this is about Waste is about transport is about Bicycle lanes 15 minutes as we said a few times today is about the 15 minute radius by walking or cycling Um, we also need to pay attention to some of the risks Uh, primarily, you know, if you just live inside a 15 minute bubble Well, we got all the risks of bubble in particular the social segregation and all what comes with that But it seems to me that overall, uh, there's a broad consensus that if we take the 15 minute neighborhood approach Well, they can help make our cities more livable and lovable