Scenarios for a Post-Pandemic City: urban planning strategies and challenges of making “Milan 15-minutes city”

Abstract

This Covid-19 pandemic has put a strain on many developed world global cities, especially those with high population densities and high level of connectivity; European cities such as Milad, Paris, London, Madrid and Barcelona among others have experienced major outbreaks. Many cities are therefore experiencing a moment of global rethinking. In a few years, we have gone from an idea of extreme density that has led to the gentrification of megacities with ever smaller living spaces to completely antithetical proposals, such as the idea of " the 15-minutes city" where all services can be reached with a minimum travel time. Within this context, this paper aims to provide an overview of this concept and its discussion and application on the case of Milan, by conducting a desk research and analysing the official reports and documents. This paper discusses that the core idea of the 15-minute city is not new, as it can be traced back to the concept of Clarence Perry’s “neighborhood unit” in the early 1900s, as a self-contained residential neighbourhood, where essential services are accessible by walking distances. In the case of Milan, the “2020 Adaptation Strategy” confronts the second phase of the pandemic (after the major lockdowns in 2020) and makes references to creating a ‘15-minute city’, by redefining the spaces in neughbourhoods to meet the basic needs of its residence.

The impact of COVID-19 on the importance and use of public parks in Saudi Arabia

“…In general, maintaining good accessibility to public parks requires the adoption of a fragmentation strategy, which means providing smaller parks that are well-integrated into the residential areas in addition to the central parks that are usually provided at a city level. This is consistent with the ideas of the 15-minute city [52] and the neighbourhood unit [53] , which can maintain accessibility to the public spaces especially in the case of mobility restrictions associated with pandemics. As for social benefit, both park locations include several commercial services, including restaurants and retail stores.…”

Changes in Everyday Internet Use and Home Activity During and After Pandemic‐Related Lockdowns: A Case Study in Shuangjing Subdistrict, Beijing

“…For the future, policymakers should seriously consider how the home and neighbourhood can better facilitate daily activities with the help of ICTs, and how future urban planning should address this challenge. This is in line with notion of the “15‐min city” which is attracting more attention in urban planning due to the pandemic (Nathan 2021; Pinto & Akhavan 2022). However, the rearrangement of household activities with more ICT use and home activity may affect people's lives negatively, for example through more sedentary behaviour, blurred boundaries between work and family life and conflicts among household members.…”

From lockdown to precise prevention: Adjusting epidemic-related spatial regulations from the perspectives of the 15-minute city and spatiotemporal planning

“…Thus, the goal to reduce virus transmission is achieved, not by strict stay-at-home order or massive lockdowns, but by facilitating limited activity space. It also supports the sustainability of local economies, and a low-carbon lifestyle ( Pinto and Akhavan, 2022 ). In addition, the idea of 15-Minute City emphasizes the variability of local conditions, rather than implementing general regulations.…”

“…The spatial regulations required people to perform everyday activities at home or near home ( Legeby et al, 2022 ), urging urban planners to reconsider how to redesign contemporary cities in the post-pandemic era in order to improve the resilience and sustainability in the community level ( Pierre, 2020 ). One example is the Milan 2020 Adaptation Strategy, a post-pandemic urban planning project aiming for strategic reorganization of spatiotemporal resources in the city ( Pinto and Akhavan, 2022 ). Proximity to essential facilities in immediate neighbourhoods were also highlighted in Greek cities to promote health outcomes and well-being in face with COVID-19 ( Mouratidis and Yiannakou, 2021 ).…”