ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL
“So, this
pandemic has only made it more clear that having a decent house to live in is a
human right we should all have.”
ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL
“Access to
housing was already an increasing and unresolved problem in big cities,” she
said of the necessity of affordable housing in the 15-minute city.
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O'Rourke said to keep essential workers on the job, cities need better transit.
She said the pandemic has underscored
the need for zoning that facilitates a better built and social environment.
“Communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, are also under-served by park space, walkability, traffic safety,” she said.
“Communities need to define their own priorities instead of top-down planning.
Communities need to drive the fine grain development, amenities and
ensure different levels of affordability.”
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O'Rourke said the 15-minute neighborhood/city cannot be a vision in a report, it has to be a shift of spending.
She said a city budget is a reflection of true priorities – is the
spending on infrastructure for people, or cars?
“COVID has definitely helped people understand the importance of their local neighborhood more than ever,” she said.
“Why the interest in 15-minute neighborhood has sparked again?
If they are able to access all their goods and services within 15-minute walk, it’s so much more convenient in the pandemic.
And people are seeing how convenient a neighborhood is where needs
can be met on foot.”
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Amanda O'Rourke is Executive Director at 8 80 Cities, a Toronto-based planning firm dedicated to making cities accessible and livable to those ages 8 to 80.
“The vision must not be just about the physical built environment, but also about the social environment -- communities participating and being part of the process.”
“Theoretically, it is very much about creating equitable places,” she added, saying the concept must correct the errors of the last century of planning – which fostered disparity, segregation and worse.
“The details really matter. We must really design cites that promote
health and well-being for all.”
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Johnson-Wright cited Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Storefront Improvement Program as a model for a public-private partnership resulting in access for all.
“The Program improves the physical appearance of independent businesses and enhances access,” she said of the resource available to property owners and tenants.
“Reimbursement grants range from $2,500 to $35,000, based on the scope of work.
For barrier removal,
there’s a 90 percent matching grant up to $20,000 for ADA improvements to
entrances, including ramps, lifts, doors hardware and automatic openers,
accessible parking and signage.”
ENSURING THE 15-MINUTE CITY SERVES ALL
The 15-minute city cannot be inclusive without a major increase in public spending to boost sidewalk and transit access.
Despite the ADA, which turned 30 last year, requiring readily-achievable barrier removal since 1992 – many buildings have barriers that discourage or out-right prevent disabled people from patronizing local businesses within walking/rolling distance of their homes.
These include steps at entrances,
narrow doorways, too-high counters and inaccessible restrooms.
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When transit is well
maintained, wheelers can access fixed route buses and trains, as well as
paratransit,” Johnson-Wright noted.
Getting to transit requires smooth
sidewalks with a clear path of travel -- free of obstructions such as signs,
utility poles and, street furniture -- at least 36 inches wide with curb ramps
at every corner.
“Another challenge is the recent proliferation of alternative modes of travel, often billed as `first mile, last mile’ solutions -- such as rentable bikes and motorized scooters,” Johnson-Wright said.
“None of these, including rideshare and car share, is accessible to wheelchair users.
All of this results in social isolation and a serious lack of mobility
for disabled people.”
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Heidi Johnson-Wright, a law school graduate and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance professional, has used a power wheelchair for mobility for 35 years.
“Many people with disabilities would welcome the benefits of the 15-minute neighborhood because of the reduction of car dependence,” she said.
“Some cannot or do not want to drive.
Many who can
drive cannot afford to buy and insure a vehicle.”
People with disabilities have high rates of unemployment and are more likely to live in poverty than any other minority group.
Those who survive on a monthly government (SSI) benefits check
receive less than $800, which is all they have for rent, food, transportation,
etc.
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“Transportation and climate crisis are intrinsically linked,” she said. “Everyone doesn’t experience space the same way, so have to be thoughtful.
Public works departments rushed to create outdoor space in response to the pandemic, but they didn’t engage diverse views.
No one asked `If you use a wheelchair, is that sidewalk dining accessible for you?’”
Whether it is called the 15-minute
neighborhood or any other term for a neighborhood with diverse offerings, it
must be designed with inclusion in mind, Butler emphasized. She noted few
cities seek input from the LGBTQ community.
“If you are not bringing in that perspective, you’re missing it,” she said.
Talk to people, have a team full of queer folks talk about their experience.
How does it feel to be trans, to feel different?
How can you create a space where people can be themselves?”
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“We plan spaces, we like to think we’re planning for every man or every woman --but we’re doing everything based on abled-bodied white folks.
They are
not built in a way that others, people that are different, can relate to or use
them,” Butler said, noting she is proud of her diverse background and hopes the
public realm can be designed for all.
Butler said intersectional planning is
not simply about equity for marginalized people, it also implies connectivity
between related issues that must be considered before a viable, sustainable
decision can be made.
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Tamika Butler – African American, Lesbian rights advocate, attorney and nonprofit manager -- is Founder + Principal of the transportation and urban planning firm, Tamika L. Butler Consulting.
For me, the approach should be ‘how are we able to do this way in the most intersectional way?’” Butler said.
“Who’s
able to talk about race, gender, trans people, undocumented immigrants – and
how transportation and urban planning must consider a project’s impact through
many lenses.”
Butler works on walking, biking and transportation projects, plus she advises non-profits.
All of the work is done
with clients that buy into the idea of equity, of giving a voice to those who
have been ignored in conventional planning processes.
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“Finally, we need to change attitudes.
We continue to have a divergent set of implicit biases around race, gender, and something called ‘ableism.’
We’ve inherited a public infrastructure that is ableist by design—meaning that, even with the ADA, it still gives preferences to people who can open doors, climb stairs, run around,” Pineda said in the newsletter.
“Now, because of COVID-19, many more people are experiencing how it feels to have barriers and restrictions placed on how they access public spaces and services, so there is a greater appreciation for the challenges persons with disabilities have long experienced.”
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Pineda shared from a 2020 article on
his work in the Haas Berkeley online newsletter:
“I have five criteria for making cities accessible.
The first is about laws at every level of government and what they say about building accessibility into city services or the technologies that cities use.
The second is about leadership: `Are city leaders
talking about these issues and using their budgets to identify barriers and
remove them?,’” Pineda said in the article.
“The third area, which is critical, is about institutional capacity. You need a cross-agency approach. For example, do all 56 agencies in New York City’s government understand what digital accessibility is?,” he asked.
“My fourth criterion is about participation and
representation. Are you only talking to people who use wheelchairs about how to
build an accessible smart city, or are you also asking people with dementia?”
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Victor Santiago Pineda -- who has a PhD in urban planning and uses a wheelchair for mobility – is a speaker, advocate, philanthropist and senior research fellow at the Haas Institute for Fair and Inclusive Society at Berkeley.
“We want more local-based services, more cities with mobility options – it has always been important, but COVID-19 has made it even more urgent,” he said.
“We must look at inclusion.
It will define
the future of humanity.”
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The age-friendly strategies are the same as the 15-minute city, she said.
“Age-friendly is very inclusive.
It
also is good for young people and people with disabilities of all ages,” Arigoni said, noting that
AARP encourages people to advocate for a built environment that makes them
comfortable and allows them to safely move about.
To encourage
aging in place and accessibility, AARP published the HomeFit Guide featuring
smart ways to make a home comfortable, safe and a great fit for older adults —
and people of all ages.
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Arigoni said many people want to walk to nearby conveniences, but most streets are too dangerous to cross.
She said transit can be a lifeline to many, but most systems are not designed for older people.
Subway and elevated train systems in New York, Chicago and other cities were built without elevators and even with retrofits, only a fraction of stations are accessible to people who use wheelchairs for mobility or are not capable of walking hundreds of stairs to a boarding platform.
“Older adults don’t use public spaces.
They are 20 percent of the population, but participate in only 4 percent of park use,” Arigoni said, citing a RAND Corporation study.
“We must apply an
age-friendly lens to how we design housing, transportation and communities.”
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“Our country is aging. By 2034, there will be more people over 65 than under age 18 for the first time ever,” said Danielle Arigoni, AARP Director of Livable Communities.
“That’s a significant
demographic. It calls out to ask the question, are we ready? The answer is most
communities are not ready.”
“Most are not designing for older adults,” she continued, noting increased rent burden, a paucity of public transit and the lack of housing accessible to people with disabilities as major issues.
There are a number of people who want to stay in their communities, but
don’t feel they are able to.”
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“Virginia and Maryland -- the places where people who work in D.C. live in – they never had density and no one thought they would.
But over the past few decades, they have added density, offices, groceries, amenities and transit,” Florida said, pointing to those bedroom communities turned into more inclusive cities as an example to duplicate.
“They have allowed taller, more dense apartment buildings and look
where Amazon HQ2 is going – right in this area (in Arlington).”
The AARP, aware that many people
outlive the ability to drive a car to meet their needs and that living in
isolation has negative mental and physical health impacts, has become a leading
advocate for livable communities in a more dense, urban setting.
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“Zoning and building regulations are a century old,’ Florida said, noting a major overhaul to promote equity and inclusion is long overdue.
“(These were) very necessary during factories, when housing needed to be separated from a polluting environment.
But that set of codes are no longer adequate to deal with a clustered, knowledge-based environment.”
For more than half a century, zoning codes have been used to exclude density and affordable housing from the suburbs, Florida said.
He encourages public-private partnerships to quash
antiquated, exclusionary codes and to replace them with more dense, more
affordable housing.
