The 15-minute city quantified using human mobility data

Area of Science:

• Urban Planning
• Transportation Geography
• Socio-economic Studies

Background:

• Rising urban congestion and transport emissions drive interest in the "15-minute city" concept.
• Previous research focused on amenity access, neglecting the link to actual resident behavior.
• A behavioral measure is needed to assess the viability of local living.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and measure "15-minute usage" based on local trip behavior.
• To quantify the relationship between local amenity access and "15-minute usage".
• To explore the socio-economic implications of increased local living.

Main Methods:

• Utilized GPS data from 40 million US mobile devices to track local trip behavior.
• Defined "15-minute usage" as the proportion of consumption trips within a 15-minute walk.
• Employed statistical analysis to correlate amenity access with usage, and analyzed historical zoning data.

Main Results:

• The median resident makes only 14% of daily consumption trips locally.
• Amenity access variations explain 84% of cross-urban and 74% of intra-urban "15-minute usage" differences.
• Historical zoning data suggest a causal link between local access and usage.

Conclusions:

• Local amenity access is a strong predictor of "15-minute city" potential.
• Achieving higher local living may exacerbate experienced segregation for low-income populations.
• Urban planning must consider equity to successfully implement "15-minute city" models.