This protest against 15-minute cities is truly, TRULY the stupidest thing ever. I don't like to insult a person's intelligence but there is no intelligence here to insult.
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RT @davidrvetter
Some stickers and signage from the protests. A large proportion equate 15-minute cities to slavery and talk about the WEF. #oxford #ltn
https://twitter.com/davidrvetter/status/1626976939796795393
@qag @cstross where I live now, I lived in back in the 60s and knew it in the 70s
It *was* your 15minute city. You had food, clothes, hardware, bakeries, shoe shops etc locally
It was the move to our of town and big shopping centres that killed that
Usually these types want to head back to the past, not this time
Odd that, I wonder why
@dampscot @qag @cstross It seems to partly be because they can't big-picture. I live in a 15 minute neighbourhood, and my suburban acquaintances often say things like, "I could never do groceries in a place like that. I have kids." So I tell them about the families in my area and what they do, and they mention something else they can't imagine.
They've been told all their lives their way of life is the best way, and 15MC points out that isn't so, and threatens to take it away.
@eyrea @dampscot @qag Yup. I have three small supermarkets within 250 metres, and three large ones (plus two Chinese) within 1km. A gym 500 metres away. 2 libraries, cinema multiplex, and shopping mall all within 500 metres. Major railway station within 1km. Tram to airport departures terminal (via two out of town big box malls): nearest stop is currently 600 metres away. Also frequent buses (10 minutes apart) or taxis if I don't feel like walking. If I had kids there are several schools nearby.
@pettter @eyrea @dampscot @qag I live within 500 metres of the centre of a capital city! Despite which, there are some small parks within 500 metres and a national park with a freaking *extinct volcano* in it about 1.5km away, a 30 minute walk or single bus ride. (Bus fares cost £1.80 flat fee, any distance, by the way. Capped at about £5 for unlimited rides in any day.)
@cstross @eyrea @dampscot @qag Sure, just pointing out some thing that _might_ be closer by from a suburban/rural location than from an urban home.
For a sustainable world, urban living and rural/suburban visits is necessary for the majority, but for many people, it's ideal if those are all _the other_ people, and _they_ get to live in a big house in the sticks and have a 30 minute drive to get to a downtown with plentiful parking.
@pettter @cstross @dampscot @qag Which they will hastily follow up with, "but we *need* them".
I think that's a big part of it, the willingness to admit the suburban experiment failed.
It's anecdata, but in my personal experience it's the suburbanites who struggled the most with the idea that we could even have a pandemic. It showed them just how isolated they were in those houses, and how the internet has made a lot of things they take for granted unnecessary.
@pettter @cstross @eyrea @dampscot @qag my city (Albuquerque) is interesting in this regard. Most of the suburban sprawl goes west, but the national forest and mountains are east. There’s also a river and surrounding protected habitat right down the middle. So by living in the city center I’m actually *closer* to nature than most of the suburbanites.
And I get to ride my bike to work in 10 minutes. It’s faster than driving would be.
@cstross @pettter @dampscot @qag Eesh... I live in Toronto, and that's actually a huge problem. Pre-pandemic, park and ride lots would be full before 6:30am, and the city transit was always short on funds because such a large percentage of riders only paid the fare, not the taxes which kept the fares low(er). Money flows out of the city and into the burbs, which now have higher taxes because of higher infrastructure costs.
@eyrea @dampscot @qag Medical options: my GP surgery is 600 metres away. Bus stop to the main teaching hospital: 100 metres (service every 10 minutes), and they're planning a tram line to it for the coming decade. Other main hospital: 2km away (2 buses, a taxi, or a 40 minute walk). Dentist: 1km away. If I NEED a car there are 3-4 hire firms within 500 metres of my front door.
What the 15 minute city means to me: not being forced to drive.
@billseitz @dampscot @qag @cstross That's what I use now. They're so much better for your back when you've got a lot to carry.
@eyrea @billseitz @dampscot @qag I currently do food shopping with a backpack and folding shopping bags (and a 1x or 2x a month supermarket home delivery), but I can see a granny cart in my future. Only problem will be hauling it up 64 steps to my front door while fully loaded, after every trip.
@cstross @eyrea @billseitz @dampscot @qag
Pro tip: keep 2 carrier bag in your granny cart. Pack shopping into the bags while checking out. Go home. Leave GC downstairs and carry the load upstairs in the bags. Works equally well with bicycle paniers.
@jsl @eyrea @billseitz @dampscot @qag Public lobby, door doesn't always latch shut. GC would probably be stolen within a week.