We all know the concept. Now here's an interactive map that allows you to explore cities around the world and see how 15-minute they are. In the default case, it is based on how many points of interest somebody could walk to in under 15 minutes (but there's also a bike toggle). A blue cell means the walk time is less than 15 minutes. And a red cell means it's greater than 15 minutes.
Here's Toronto:
Salt Lake City:
Houston:
Miami:
Paris:
Tokyo:
I tried not to adjust the scale at all, but the amount of blue/red you see will depend on the cropping of each map. Still, it's pretty clear that Tokyo and Houston are not the same kind of city. What a contrast.
In some cases, though, I think the blue areas could be, in a way, overstated. Technically, I'm sure the data is right, but practically speaking, a blue area may not be very pedestrian oriented, meaning most people still drive. This is where good urban design factors. A 15-minute walk will feel very different depending on what you're walking on and through.
Maps from 15-min-City; cover photo by HANVIN CHEONG on Unsplash
Ben Thompson is an American technology analyst who writes a widely read newsletter called Stratechery. He also used to live in Taipei, where he lived continuously for 12 years.
But this past summer he moved back to Wisconsin, trading his urban life for a suburban one. And so his latest article starts with a more personal note, talking about what it's like to return to the US (though the larger point of the post is the intersection of robotaxis and suburbia).
I spent a summer in Taipei in my early 20's and grew to love the place after the first few weeks, and so I was expecting his re-acclimation to have been a bit more jarring. But it turns out, Ben is happy to be back and, in particular, he's happy to be back living in the suburbs.
His post even goes on to question whether the mobility transformations we are seeing today might be about to cement some kind of "end to urbanism":
What is worth considering, however, is if the last wave of urbanism, which started in the 1990s and peaked in the 2010s, might be the last, at least in the United States (Asia and its massive metropolises are another story). The potential physical transformation in transportation and delivery I am talking about is simply completing the story that started with entertainment and television in the first wave of suburbia, and then information and interactivity via the Internet, particularly since COVID. There are real benefits to being in person, just like there are to living in the city, but the relative delta to working remote or living in the suburbs has decreased dramatically; meanwhile, offices and urban living can never match the advantages inherent to working from a big home with a big yard.
Whether or not this is good thing is a separate discussion; I will say it has been good for me, and it’s poised to get even better.
I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto. I initially made the mistake of going to university in Waterloo, but I immediately started to envy my friends who were living downtown and going to the University of Toronto. So I course-corrected and transferred.
When it came time to go to grad school, I had learned my lesson: a proper urban center was a non-negotiable item. So I moved to Philadelphia and absolutely fell in love with the city's walkability, historic scale, and nightlife. It also didn't hurt that I could take a Chinatown bus to Manhattan for $10.
In fact, when I temporarily returned to the suburbs of Toronto after school — before once again moving into the city — I vividly remember missing Philly. I missed its urbanity. I missed walking everywhere. It was either that, or I just missed the good old "special" at Bob and Barbara's on South Street.
Since moving back to Toronto after school, I have yet to live beyond the confines of High Park, St. Clair Avenue, and the Don River. Maybe one day I will, or maybe I won't. The oldest parts of our city have always felt the most like home to me.
Sure, I also have a deep love for the mountains, but when I daydream about places where I could really live, my mind always goes to big cities like Paris, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro (city and mountains!).
I'm not here to impose my views (just write about them). We all have our lifestyle preferences. And I can appreciate that, for many, like Ben, the suburbs offer a compelling value proposition. His view is also supported by history: new technologies do often have a decentralizing effect on cities.
Cover photo by TangChi Lee on Unsplash
Good news: If you would like to open a small-scale retail business in Toronto — and you have a property that is residentially zoned on a major street (in one of the approved areas), or you have a corner property on a designated “community street,” or you have a property that abuts a non-residential use such as a park or public school — you may now be allowed to do it, with some restrictions. (Consult your local planner for exact details.)
This, as we talked about recently, is meaningful progress for Toronto. But as is always the case, it was not easy. Toward the end, local community groups even started using AI slop in an attempt to terrify the public into thinking that this would be a harbinger of littering hoodlums loitering in all of our neighborhoods.
Thankfully, this city has people like Dan Seljak, Blair Scorgie, and many others — including, of course, the EHON team at the City — who have been instrumental in getting something passed, even if it had to change a little along the way. City building ain’t easy. They should all be proud of what they've accomplished. I look forward to seeing what kind of local entrepreneurship this unlocks. Go Toronto.