Ah! Today's #dailysignal is a difficult one. It looks at the protests popping top against 15 minute cities (something I predicted - both the policies around these plans and the protests and the inevitable politicisation! a few years back) and how great intentions can be misinterpreted and, yes, manipulated by grey-hat political and selfish actors if we are not vigilant.
Who wouldn't want to live in a city where everything you need or want is in walking distance!? That sounds great!
But when these noble plans are used to implicitly and explicitly exculde "outsiders" from nice and lovely spaces ("eco NIMBYism" or "greenlining"), good ideas can be twisted in to dividing people and separating society against class lines. Britain's tolls and fines for driving into areas (often wealthy ones) where people are "not residents" is sadly reminiscent of the outcome (even if not the intention!) of South Africa's shameful pass book laws designed to keep people in their places - and class lines in place.
There's a big difference between not wanting or needing to leave your vicinity to get everything you want and need, and from feeling unwelcome in "someone else's" territory.
I would like to think that we can choose to focus on making everyone's home town a well-serviced with both "bread and roses" place any of us would be delighted to live in rather than on divisions. And I hope that conversations like these can shift the discourse away from "us vs them" towards working together to make all our spaces more healthy and liveable.
Less booms and borders, more cafes and street side conversation, please?
So, my questions to you are:
How can we ensure we make our 15 minute city plans feel more inclusive?
How can we focus on service delivery and community building rather than bi-laws and tolls?
How can we envisage the city of the future as a place of both human connection and bio diversity?
How can we stop good things from being twisted into binary "party pack" political footballs?
Read more:
Sustainability served 2 ways : https://www.fluxtrends.com/sustainability-served-2-ways/
On greenlining and such things when intentions meet incentives: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-01-03-key-trends-that-will-affect-your-lives-in-2023/
No, calling protesters "conspiracy theorists" isn't going to heal divides (empathy for the excluded is critical) https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2023/02/18/15-minute-neighbourhoods-protest/
Traffic filters for fining people who don't belong in posh Oxford :(
https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/roads-and-transport/connecting-oxfordshire/traffic-filtersHa-ha cities with Daniel Claassen : https://futurecitiesafrica.com/episode/70/haha-cities-diy-cities-charter-cities-and-other-trends-for-2022
15 minute cities and political polarisation of all things...