Go to work on foot, surrounded by green areas and spaces to practice sports, with all the essential services just a stone's throw away, away from smoke, noise and traffic jams... and having hundreds of thousands or even millions of people as neighbors. It is the model of life for its citizens that thousands of cities around the world aspire to as a response to the problems inherent to the very concept of a metropolis.
Cities represent less than 2% of the Earth's total surface, but, according to United Nations data, 55% (with projections of reaching 70% in 2050) of the world's population live in them, they consume 78 % of total energy and produce more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. In view of this data, it seems clear that the urban way of life needs to be redefined.
Pablo Martínez and Mar Santamaria, architects, urban planners and members of the 300,000 Km/s think tank, claim the city as a formula for successful coexistence. “Human beings have managed to live and prosper on the planet thanks to the fact that we invented cities. These are not only a way of managing and concentrating work, but also a way of providing food, care and well-being,” Martínez highlights. Of course, he points out, "probably in the future we should not continue densifying existing large cities, but rather concentrate growth around smaller or intermediate cities."
The statement of SDG No. 11 of the United Nations speaks of the need to achieve “sustainable cities and communities.” An aspiration that, according to the Franco-Colombian scientist and urban planner Carlos Moreno, associate professor and scientific director of the ETI (Entrepreneurship-Territory-Innovation) chair at the University of Paris IAE – Pantheon Sorbonne, involves responding to three great challenges that big cities face: the climatic, the economic and the social. “Today's cities contribute more than any other factor to climate change; they are the places where the wealth and poverty of the world occur, where enormous inequalities are generated and strong social tensions occur that fracture society and tend to They expel the poorest and most marginalized to remote places,” he points out.
To solve these three problems, Moreno believes that ecological, economically vibrant and socially cohesive cities are needed. “We must change our dependence on the car and focus on essential local services. Promote public transportation, regenerate the local economic model, reduce dependence on imports and encourage interaction between people.”
Professor Moreno is the ideologist of one of the approaches that is having the greatest impact in this search for solutions for urban reinvention: the 15-minute city. Popularized in 2021 by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, as an alternative that would return habitability and common sense to life in the neighborhoods of the crowded French capital, the proposal is based on the idea that citizens have all their basic needs – work, schools, health and administrative centers, green spaces, supermarkets and shopping, leisure and culture – at a distance that can be covered in less than a quarter of an hour on foot or by bicycle.
The 15-minute city aims to reduce trips in polluting vehicles and the time that citizens waste in them to go to carry out their activities. A saving that translates into less pollution and a higher quality of life. “We must optimize existing spaces and make our cities more livable and friendly for families and the community. This is the path towards a new economic geography and proximity that will mark the coming decades, says Moreno.
In addition to Paris, other cities in the world such as Melbourne, Barcelona, Portland, Bogotá and Shanghai are following this path of proximity. Although not without problems. The 'work' section is one of the most difficult to fulfill. A pending issue that technology could help to overcome. “Teleworking reduces mobility and the carbon emissions linked to it. And it also generates greater roots in the neighborhoods where we spend the night and allows us to build stronger communities there,” says Mar Santamaria.
Digitalization is, in fact, one of the great allies that urban planners have to improve the sustainability of cities. Sustainable mobility, air or noise pollution sensors, AI systems to predict traffic jams, manage traffic or increase citizen safety are just some of the contributions of technology to the smart city. Although, Santamaría warns, there is also a less friendly and transparent dimension to this technicalization. “Today's cities are artifacts that work with data and algorithms that often move away from public control. They are in the hands of telephone companies, real estate portals, carsharing companies or large e-commerce platforms. These corporations have more and better information about the cities and the needs of their inhabitants than the city councils that want to govern them.”
Whose responsibility is it to transform large cities? Pablo Martínez believes that such an ambitious change in model can only be addressed through a collective commitment. "This is not only a responsibility of technicians and professionals, but it must be shared with the citizens, who will be the ones who end up benefiting or harmed by the result." And that, he warns, implies being consistent. “If you don't want the rental price to go up, don't use vacation rentals. If you like to see a live business on the streets, don't abuse e-commerce or home delivery. If you want your child to play quietly in the neighborhood square, do not make your private car your main means of mobility.”
Politicians and regulators also play an essential role in this transition. Seven out of ten people in the Basque Country live in cities. For this reason, the Basque Government approved the Bultzatu 2050 Urban Agenda in 2019, which delves into SDG No. 11 in the long term with the objective, explains Miguel de los Toyos, its deputy minister of Territorial Planning and Urban Agenda, that “cities Basques are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” Among the measures that have been launched from this Agenda, there is a strategy for Comprehensive Urban Regeneration in Vulnerable Neighborhoods that is acting in 21 municipalities and 24 neighborhoods with a double approach. “Urban planning, through the improvement of accessibility and energy efficiency in buildings, the redevelopment of public urban environments in the neighborhood or the improvement of mobility. And, social, accompanying neighbors with employment and training plans or with the detection of specific social needs in residents,” indicates the vice-counselor.
The European drive represents an unbeatable opportunity for Spanish cities to get on the bandwagon of the ecological transition. The NextGenerationEU Funds provide aid amounting to 5,520 million euros for housing rehabilitation and urban regeneration in Spain. Miguel de los Toyos highlights that this injection of resources should serve, for example, “so that communities of owners can improve energy efficiency in their buildings.” However, he also remembers that these European funds have an expiration date. For this reason, he points out, "the commitment of the Administrations must convey the will to provide these public policies with their own resources beyond that year 2026."
Pablo Martínez remembers that the clock is ticking and that there is still almost everything to do. “We will have to intensively transform more than 90% of the buildings in less than 20 years. And we will also have to make our cities more self-sufficient, capable of generating energy, producing food and resisting the onslaught of a more adverse climate.” The challenge is immense, yes, but, this architect assures, there is no reason to be scared of it.
“Because we have more tools than ever to face it. We not only have many interesting technologies, but also a lot of knowledge in universities, research centers and organizations that are eager to put it into practice.”
