The International Idiocy of the 15-Minute City

The promise of cities is that they have a lot more stuff to do, things to buy and sell, places to work, and people to meet than towns and villages. It's why large metros manage to be richer, more attractive places than smaller, isolated communities, despite all the traffic, noise, crime, pollution, and general urban dysfunction that inevitably comes with them.

It's strange then that all across the world, city planners and the politicians under their sway keep trying to replace the interconnected, agglomerated city with sealed-off, self-contained urban villages no one will have to leave.

Last week, the Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly approved a new national planning framework that prioritizes the creation of "20-minute neighborhoods" where residents can access jobs, housing, shopping, health and education facilities, and even food-producing gardens in a 20-minute walk or bike ride.

This national framework serves as a guideline for local councils that produce more precise plans of where new development is allowed and approve individual development applications.