Examining access to daily functions through the lens of the 15-minute city concept in a highly populated city

Abstract

The concept of 15-min city has gained popularity during COVID-19 for its proximity-based services accessible by active travel in a neighborhood walk of 15-min. It has potential to enhance urban quality of life, contribute to reduction of air pollution and car dependency, aligning with global sustainable development goals (SDGs). With many cities (New York, Paris, Sydney, Barcelona) implementing similar concepts, this study aims to measure the city of Lahore as a 15-min city. Due to the overwhelming number of private vehicles on the streets, the city is subjected to traffic congestion and air pollution. The scope of this study is to identify the isochrones with the most potential of sustaining the 15-min city concept based on density and diversity of amenities. A GIS-based methodology is employed to analyze accessibility to essential social urban functions based on street network of Lahore. A total of 513,527 data points for social urban functions such as (i) Residential, (ii) Commerce, (iii) Health, (iv) Education, and (v) Recreation are considered for analysis. The findings show that 1041 isochrones (approx. 2.6 million people) can access commerce, health, education, and recreational facilities by a walk of 15-min with most of these areas situated in Data Gunj Buksh Town and Gulberg Town of Lahore which highlight the potential of implementing 15-min city model in Lahore. Based on the findings of this study, policymakers and practitioners can identify the areas where pedestrian infrastructure needs to be enhanced to achieve the 15-min city as well as invest in urban development, such as infrastructure improvements and public transportation enhancement.