Page 48 - 05_July-Aug 2024

W e’ve all heard the sinister stories. Neighbour- hoods with no-go zones and closed-off streets, or designated zones with checkpoints and random lockdowns. Cars allowed on certain roads at certain times. And every step you’re
forced to take is monitored on closed-circuit television for Mayor Amarjeet Sohi to watch in his underground City Hall lair while he tents his fingers and says “Good, good... every- thing’s going according to plan.”
The term “15-minute city” was coined in 2016 by Sorbonne professor Carlos Moreno, who received the 2021 Obel Award for promoting “architecture in the service of both people and the planet.” It simply means having all necessary amenities within a short walk, bike or public transit ride from one’s home.
Most people would say that sounds like a lovely place to live. But conspiracy theorists — along with some politicians and pundits who encourage them — now say the idea is tyranny. Sean Bohle, senior planner with the City of Edmonton, says the idea is old — much older than the term itself.
“It’s an urban planning slogan, and slogans get updated every few years to connect with the average person and explain what it is we’re trying to do,” Bohle says. “It’s been called ‘Smart Growth,’ or ‘New Urbanism,’ but they all mean essentially the same thing. You’d have to go back to probably the 1960s to find planning documents that were like, ‘What we need are freeways everywhere, and to separate all the houses from all the shops!’”
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