A chat at the Denver library made me rethink city planning

I was at the main branch in Denver last Tuesday, just grabbing a book on urban design. A librarian saw me looking at old maps and asked if I knew about the '15-minute city' idea. She explained it's a plan where everything you need is a short walk or bike ride from home. I spent the next hour reading about it and now I can't stop noticing how my own neighborhood needs better grocery stores and parks close by. Has your city started talking about this kind of change?

3 comments

3 Comments

caseythompson1mo ago

That librarian hit on something HUGE. Does the 15-minute city idea ever run into problems with older suburbs that were built only for cars? I live in one and the nearest bus stop is a 20-minute walk down a road with no sidewalk. It feels like you'd have to rebuild everything from the ground up.

river9521mo ago

Ugh, my old neighborhood was exactly like that.

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foster.tessa1mo ago

Yeah, the "rebuild everything" part is so true. My friend in a suburb like that tried to go car-free for a month and gave up after a scary walk to get milk. It just shows how the old design locks people in.