Foreword xvii Acknowledgments xxi Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Here and Now: We Must Change 5 Chapter 2 Journey Through a Fragmented City 17 Chapter 3 The History of Urban Time 37 Chapter 4 The Geography of Urban Time 45 Chapter 5 Exploring the Past to Reimagine the Future 55 Chapter 6 The City’s Shape, Rhythm, and Time 63 Chapter 7 Charting 50 Years of Change 77 Chapter 8 The Genesis of the 15-Minute City 85 Chapter 9 The 15-Minute City: The Proximity Revolution 93 Chapter 10 The Portes de Paris Project and the 15-Minute City's Emergence 113 Chapter 11 Paris and the Global Rise of the 15-Minute City 129 Chapter 12 Milan: Living in Proximity 151 Chapter 13 Portland’s Path to Sustainability 163 Chapter 14 Cleveland and the Car Industry 169 Chapter 15 Buenos Aires’ Future: Proximity and Sustainability 179 Chapter 16 Sousse: Toward a Metropolis of Proximity 191 Chapter 17 Melbourne: A Pioneering 20-Minute City 201 Chapter 18 Busan: Technological Smart City to Happy Proximity 211 Chapter 19 Small Towns Are Also Inspired 219 Chapter 20 Scotland and the Ile De France Region: The Future in 20 Minutes 229 Chapter 21 Digital Technologies and Inhabitants’ Inclinations 243 Conclusion: Embracing Tomorrow: A Happier Proximity 249 Afterword 253 About the Author 255 Index 257

“Carlos Moreno has done cities and society a great service by showing us the vital importance of the 15-minute city, where we can work, send our children to school, shop, and carry out all of life’s crucial activities in close proximity to where we live. Paris and leading cities around the world have embraced this concept. This book is a must-read for mayors, urbanists, and everyone who cares about cities.” —Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class “With his new book Carlos Moreno provides a major contribution to architects, urban planners, and city authorities by proposing pragmatic solutions for humanizing cities in all climatic environments and all five continents. Restoring proximity in today’s urban landscapes is a program capable of ameliorating the quality of life and the wellbeing of people. Innovative ideas and urban planning approaches are a hope for achieving social cohesion missing today when social, economic, and environmental inequalities threaten communities worldwide and disproportionally affect the poor. I congratulate the author and hope that the book will reach a larger audience and be read not only by professionals but also politicians.”—Regina Gonthier, former president of the Swiss Conference of Architects (2008-2023) and member of several architecture and urban design councils in Switzerland  “The simple power of proximity—making sure we have more things we need and want close by—is one of the most important bedrocks of better city-making, and no city has presented it better than Paris under the leadership of Anne Hidalgo and supported by the concepts of Carlos Moreno. More cities and communities are translating this critical concept into real urban change, and that’s a really important thing for our future. We have Carlos to thank for that.”  —Brent Toderian, City Planner and Global Advisor to Cities, and former Chief Planner for Vancouver, Canada "By placing the citizen at the heart of urban planning, Professor Moreno unveils an innovative exploration of the 15-Minute City concept. This transformative approach reshapes our cities and communities, making them better and happier places to live, work, and thrive."—Narek Arakelyan, Secretary General, FIABCI, The International Real Estate Federation “Carlos’s concept of a 15-minute city is simple—and powerful. Half of all urban homes that will exist within our children’s lives do not exist today. We have a magnificent opportunity to build, and to improve today’s cities, following the exquisite advice in this book. Everyone who likes people and cities should read it, especially decision makers.”—Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa, founder of 8 80 Cities, Cities for Everyone “What we intuitively know is essential to urban life is much too often lost or forgotten—it has become invisible to the eye. Being able to interpret these basic human needs into concept, and translating that concept into policy, is the genius of the 15-Minute City. Instead of seeking to create a formula, a design manual, Professor Moreno is formulating what is essential for life in the cities to thrive: Proximity.”-- Jesper Eis Eriksen, Executive Director, Obel Award “Cities have been for millennia prodigious engines of commerce and culture, yet nowadays they are mostly an unqualified mess of cars, long commutes, soullessness, and stress. The 15-Minute City narrates convincingly the electrifying possibilities of a different city life, one that re-inscribes humanness, proximity, connections, and wellbeing at the center of the urban fabric.”—Bruno Giussani, author and Global Curator, TED “What is the 15-Minute City? It's the city of proximity, where you can find everything you need within 15 minutes of your home. This is a prerequisite for the ecological transformation of the city, while at the same time improving the daily lives of Parisians.”—Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris “The urban agenda is the space in which we will win the excitement and commitment of citizens to the revolution of green and social progress. The 15-minute cities are that brilliant idea that turns the complex into the simple, the transformative into the attractive, with a common thread to think and test the changes. We must thank Carlos Moreno for his help in helping us to understand and promote the necessary changes, to conquer clean, healthy, and close cities, on a human scale, for the neighbors.”—Teresa Ribera, Spanish Vice President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge "Through this book, Carlos Moreno guides us to a world at a human scale, redesigned to bring urbanized spaces back to the people that inhabit them. The concept of the 15-minute city inspires us to transform our cities so that quality of life and well-being is put at the center. No doubt that this idea has been and will be embraced by so many cities in Europe and elsewhere as one of the paradigms of how cities are confronting the climate crisis."—Júlia López Ventura, C40 Cities Regional Director for Europe  “My dear Carlos, I fully admire your work.”—Edgar Morin, sociologist, writer, father of complexity analysis “Carlos Moreno's work on the 15-minute city combines a wonderfully clear and even old-fashioned idea—that we should all be able to get around our neighborhoods and easily reach most of the people and things we need within a ‘happy proximity’—with cutting-edge scientific findings on urban networks and complex adaptive systems. I think that's why this work has broken through to a global audience, and started a much-needed debate about the mistakes we've made and the reforms we will need. We have to do better—and we can, as this important book demonstrates.”  —Michael W. Mehaffy, PhD, Executive Director, International Making Cities Livable “Carlos Moreno rescues the forgotten paths of a humanist, solidarity, and inclusive urbanism, respectful of all the eco-systems that make up the complexity of a city and anchored in the circular economy.”—Carmen Santana, architect and urban planner, 2021 Spanish urban planning award  “The 15-minute city popularized by Professor Carlos Moreno proposes a positive and comprehensive approach for the ecological revolution that humanity urgently needs to adopt. In early 2020, C40 was the first global organization to support this concept, encouraging mayors across the world to adopt the 15-minute city concept as part of their green and just transition. Today, we are joining forces with Professor Carlos Moreno to call for a new model of urbanism that is built in harmony with people and nature."—Helene Chartier, Director of Urban Planning and Design, C40 “Carlo Moreno's highly inspiring book is an essential work for renewing urban planning frameworks and practices. As a performance piece, it is a veritable guide to imagining desirable sustainable urban futures.”—Vincent Kaufmann, professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) “When I think about Carlos Moreno's 15-minute city concept, it is more than just a novel way to organize our urban communities. What Carlos really teaches us is that we must think and act differently in order to create a better life for everyone who lives in cities. It's a bonus that he proposes a formula that can deliver a better future for all of us. Bravo, Carlos!”—Dr. Jonathan Reichental, Founder of Human Future, Professor, and Author "Carlos Moreno's work joins and builds upon a great tradition of urban thinking and activism, asking and answering this basic question: How is it best to live in cities? The state of our planet—and perhaps of humanity itself—hinges upon how we shape and manage urban centers. Carlos Moreno has defined clear visions of the way forward. Building on the great work of his predecessors—Lewis Mumford, Jane Jacobs, Camillo Sitte, and others—Carlos Moreno lays out a clear and compelling course for the world's cities, today and well into the future."—Thomas Vonier FAIA RIBA, President, American Institute of Architects (2017), President, International Union of Architects (2017-2021) “Beyond the confines of car-centric celebrations, it becomes evident that our planet would find greater happiness in embracing this alternative. The narrative of The 15-Minute City unfolds as a remarkable tale of transformative urban planning. It champions sustainability, resilience, and an elevated quality of life, all while drawing inspiration from the rich tapestry of cultural and social values. In this journey, I take immense pride in my affiliation with a network of visionary leaders like Carlos Moreno from across the globe who share an unwavering commitment to this cause.”—Gaetan Siew, Former President of the International Union of Architects “Professor Carlos Moreno is a trailblazer, a visionary mind who has boldly reimagined urban life, prioritizing people over vehicles. In The 15-Minute City, his life's work and research come together to offer a groundbreaking vision for the future of urban living."—Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO of WOMEN IN TECH, Global Movement “Living in humane, verdant, and traditional streets in which it is easy and pleasant to walk or cycle and which don’t break up a town into artificially separate zones is the natural human condition. We now also know that it supports happier, healthier, and more sociable lives in which we tread more lightly upon the planet. What was once a ripple of conjecture has become a storm surge of evidence. This important and beautiful book sets out the journey back from cities scarred by traffic-modernism and how we can restitch our towns for the benefit of people, place, and planet.”—Nicholas Boys Smith, London, Create Streets Director "During her re-election as Mayor of Paris in 2020, the 15-Munute City was at the heart of Anne Hidalgo's campaign, in which I was heavily involved.”—Jean Jouzel, climate scientist, Nobel Prize IPCC, 2007 "Professor Moreno's vision of people-centered urbanism, based on proximity, accessibility, and mixed-use, is crucial to reducing emissions, achieving our sustainable development goals, and building a better future for all.’’—Sharon Gil, Lead, Sustainable Urban Development, UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) “Carlos Moreno integrates with his book of unique value the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato into contemporary urban challenges, advocating for cities to prioritize human well-being and happy proximity over vehicular dominance. Drawing from the Athens Charter of 1933 and Platonic theories of constant flow and unchangeability, he envisions cities where communities and pedestrian-friendly designs coalesce within a 15-minute reach of constant flow of the perceptible world and the unchangeability of the conceivable world.”—Nikos Fintikakis, Professor at IAA (International Academy of Architecture), Board Member of the Panhellenic Association of Architects  “Have you always wondered why the juvenile Le Corbusier with his inhuman doctrine of ‘zoning, car-friendly-city, machine-a habiter,’ pronounced at the Athens CIAM 1933, had the impudent success that all colonial countries have since then experienced on their own bodies? The answer is as brutal as sobering: the cutting-edge ‘Six Goals for Urban Ecology’ postulated by Walter Gropius, his wife Ise, and Sigfried Giedion at the Zürich CIAM 1931, were erased by Adolf Hitler's seizure of power. Ninety years later Carlos Moreno finally offers us the toolbox for a mapping and programming of this displaced—but not lost—Urban Ecology.”—Jana Revedin, PhD, Architect, Theorist, President on the Global Awards for Sustainable Architecture “It's no coincidence that, at the height of the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, the city of Paris appointed an elected official to be responsible for the city of the quarter-hour. It's a sign of the relevance of Carlos Moreno's eponymous concept. The idea is all the more relevant in that it responds to the concept of resilience, which has taken hold in cities around the world, highlighting the need for proximity and accessibility to public services on a daily basis. The 15-Minute City is not an end in itself, but can be the common thread running through a programme of urban transformation that will make it possible to achieve a resilient, sustainable, and peaceful city.”—Dominique Perrault, Architect, Member of the French Fine Arts Academy "We need a radical transformation of the spaces we inhabit. In this great work, Carlos Moreno brilliantly proposes making proximity and the humanization of our cities the key drivers in the urban revolution we have to promote. Cities to celebrate life. So, let’s get down to it!" —Idoia Postigo, General Director of Bilbao Metropoli 30 “Suddenly we realized that what we assumed to be inevitable in cities was avoidable: traffic, pollution, unnecessary travel, inequalities, concentrations of wealth in some areas and chronic lack of services in others. If there is a positive legacy of the pandemic era, this is it: Having imagined what until recently was unimaginable. Carols Moreno's 15-minute city is perhaps the one that most represented this possible breakthrough, and the fact that it's making its way around the world is great news.”—Jaime d'Alessandro, La Repubblica “Carlos Moreno has been able to synthesize in a single concept, the 15-Minute City, the reinvention of proximities, with sustainable and inclusive cities. He has broken the mold, spreading quickly and globally, a change in the urban model that in the past would have required decades. The 15-Minute City will help save the planet by developing sustainable and livable cities.”—Pilar Conesa, CEO, Anteverti - Barcelona, Curator of Smart City Expo World Congress “People will be happier, they will live in a better world, thanks to the search for mixed, compact, and accessible cities. The 15-Minute City is a path towards cities for life. Knowing and understanding the thinking that Carlos Moreno and his team have built, brings us closer to a better life.”—Jorge Perez Jaramillo, Medellin former urban planner chief, 2016 Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize  “Carlos Moreno is a superb human being and a remarkable multidisciplinary scientist. His research and work reveal the importance of proximity in our cities. While the quarter-hour city is now a world-renowned concept, it is first and foremost a philosophy for living happily in our cities. The proximity of services, urbanization that favors human relations, soft mobility, and the strengthening of social ties are at the heart of the urban harmony demonstrated and desired by the quarter-hour city that Carlos Moreno tirelessly promotes.”—Serge Orru, Paris Climate Academy, Paris “As the United Nation system’s specialized agency for sustainable urbanization, it is UN-Habitat’s role to follow the debate on new concepts and models that can assist cities and countries in the sustainable urban transition. In particular, the 15-minute city concept powerfully communicates and promotes UN-Habitat’s approach to people-centered sustainable cities and neighborhoods. Rarely has an academic concept as the 15-minute city gained such attention from decision-makers and urban professionals across the globe. This is why we choose to particularly feature the concept in our latest World Cities Report and to award Professor Moreno the Habitat Scroll of Honour in 2022.  We are joining forces with Professor Moreno and partners in the Global Observatory of Sustainable Proximities that we believe will be a vehicle to promote proximity and ’15-minute cities’ on a larger scale. The Observatory was recently highlighted among the high impact action coalitions that can be key in accelerating the achievement of the 2030 Agenda by localizing SDGs in cities globally. Professor Moreno’s latest book is taking stock of the development of the concept as well as showcasing best practices. It will most likely be a very important work for urban decision-makers and professionals to support the transition towards sustainable cities in this decade of action.” —Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)