Schools should be at the heart of communities as they have assets such as halls and fields that can be opened up to the local community.
THE “20-minute neighbourhood” model is a residential urban concept where residents can meet their day-to-day needs within a 20-minute walk, bike or public transport ride within their neighbourhood.
It is linked to the “15-minute city” urban planning model developed by Prof Carlos Moreno and adopted by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo in her re-election campaign.
The 20-minute neighbourhood concept has been introduced in Melbourne in Australia and Portland, United States, and is gaining traction in the United Kingdom.
“The details of the concept are open to interpretation whether the 20 minutes refer to a return trip, single direction or circumference. But the idea is that you should be able to access your daily needs within 20 minutes,” said UK’s Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) Healthier Places project and policy officer Gemma Hyde.
“TCPA was founded alongside the UK’s Garden City movement.
“Many of the movement’s principles involved people being able to live locally and doing the things they needed to do most days, most times, within a short distance of their homes.
“The 20-minute neighbourhood is a modern interpretation of that.”
Well-connected paths, streets and spaces form a network that leads people to the spaces they want to go to.
In coming up with a guide on the 20-minute neighbourhood concept for England, Hyde said TCPA also referred to research by the National Health Service suggesting that places should ideally be “complete, compact and connected”.
“It should be complete in the sense that it has most things a neighbourhood needs, compact such that shops for everyday needs can be easily accessed through active travel (walking/cycling/travelling through non-motorised means) and be connected through an active travel network plus public transport system.
“A key element in implementing the concept is data collection to understand the information about a place,” she said.
“When evaluating an existing neighbourhood, the data should show what the community has; how they use what they have already got, what elements are missing as well as challenges and opportunities to try and make that neighbourhood more liveable.”
Spaces where people can grow food locally through community gardens will benefit residents.
Hyde explained that both built infrastructures and soft measures needed to be looked into.
For example, prior to building a bicycle lane, there should be research on whether the local population knows how to ride bicycles and whether children are being taught how to ride safely.
The eight characteristics or features outlined by TCPA for a “20-minute neighbourhood” are:
> Diverse and affordable homes in well-designed neighbourhoods must include an integrated mix of housing schemes that meet the needs of the population, including age and income factors;
> Well-connected paths, streets and spaces, as it is important to have a network that leads people to the spaces they want to go, through active travel or public transport;
> Schools at the heart of communities as schools have a lot of assets and opportunities that could be opened up to local communities when not in use, such as fields, halls, play equipment and kitchen;
> Good green spaces in the right places are an important component as they are good for mental and physical health, bring people from all ages of the community outdoors and address climate change mitigation;
> Local food production – there should be spaces where people can grow food locally through community gardens or underutilised land as well as access healthy food locally through markets;
> Keeping jobs and money local – if businesses and job opportunities are kept local, and shops, services and facilities are centrally located, people will be able to travel actively to these destinations and support local economies;
> Community health and well-being facilities; establishment of community health hubs offering physical healthcare services along with emotional and social support, such as exercise classes, clubs and community kitchens; and
> A place for all ages – a successful place is one in which people can choose to live their whole lives, because the needs of all age groups and life stages are accommodated.
Good for mental and physical health, green spaces also enable the community to gather outdoors.
On the difference in implementing the 20-minute neighbourhood concept, Hyde said: “On a greenfield site (undeveloped land), a developer is given permission to build as long as they adhere to guidelines set by the planning authorities.
“Some developers have realised that the concept looks good and they can execute it quite easily.
“It is much more of an incremental process for brownfield sites (previously developed land, which is or was occupied by a permanent structure).
“It is about having a vision and, whenever an opportunity arises, ensuring whatever happens within the development benefits the concept rather than creating an obstacle.
A successful space caters to needs of all age groups and life stages.
“The champion of the concept in brownfield sites could be a town or parish council, neighbourhood or community group, or business improvement district (BID) group.
For example, she said the BID group in Ipswich, Suffolk, wanted to make their town centre more walkable so they evaluated and made improvements to enhance the walkability and connectivity within the town centre’s retail space.
Hyde pointed out that the 20-minute neighbourhood model became more prominent and appreciated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic gave people a glimpse into what it would be like to stay, live and shop within their immediate neighbourhood.
“For some, they discovered that their neighbourhood had wonderful things and they did not have to travel far to get what they needed.
“For others, it was a real wake-up call that their neighbourhood was not conducive for living locally as it was missing certain things key to their health and well-being.”
Hyde added that the pandemic also encouraged people’s loyalty for local businesses, as lockdowns meant that they were restricted on where they could shop.
Good connectivity encourages mobility through active travel or public transport.
Meanwhile, Oxfordshire county council head of healthy place shaping Dr Rosie Rowe said the pandemic also highlighted social inequalities across the UK, such as unequal access to green spaces and housing.
“The pandemic underscored the importance of active travel and relevance of a 20-minute neighbourhood.
“So it is timely to identify the opportunities for change and to think differently to work around problems such as economic crisis and climate change,” she said.
Prof Henrik Schoenefeldt said the 20-minute neighbourhood model had a lot to do with placemaking and creating micro economies, as it encourages people to shop at nearby local shops rather than driving out to supermarkets.
“You need to have the right population density to support this concept. If the model is implemented, local shops also have to cater to people across diverse economic income groups within the neighbourhood,” said the University of Kent sustainability in architectural heritage professor.
He stressed that diversity of use was important in the design of a good public space, where a socially diverse space could meet the needs of people from different ages and class groups.
Jade Chan was a 2022 Khazanah-Wolfson Press Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. This article is part of a series from her fellowship project on how placemaking can benefit the community and environment.
