A concept for a city in which citizens can access their daily necessities by foot or by bike within 15 minutes has won the Obel Award for 2021.
Aptly named the 15-Minute City, the urban planning model was developed by French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno to help tackle car hegemony and create more sustainable human-centric urban environments.
The 15-Minute City by Carlos Moreno (above) has won the Obel Award 2021. Photo is by Mathieu Delmestre
It is the third project ever to win an Obel Award, an international prize presented annually by the Henrik Frode Obel Foundation to celebrate "outstanding architectural contributions to human development".
This year the competition focused specifically on new solutions to the challenges faced by cities around the world. Paris among cities already using Moreno's ideas
Moreno first revealed his vision for the 15-Minute City model in 2016. Its overarching aim is to help improve the quality of life of people living in dense metropolitan areas.
It imagines decentralised cities in which citizens can access both their home and workplace in either a short walk or cycle. Food, health, education and cultural facilities would also be accessible without a car within a quarter of an hour.
Reducing dependency on vehicles in this way could help cut fossil fuel usage, carbon emissions and air pollution and, in turn, improve the health of both people and the planet.
The concept imagines cities where everything is accessible within 15 min...