Fall Issue 2021 - 119

" DeInfrastructuring "
in
the Era of the
15-Minute City
STEVEN BAUMGARTNER
The concept of the " 15-minute city " -in
which all human needs are within reach
by walking or bicycling for 15 minutes
or less-has gained momentum among
urbanists, planners, designers, and policymakers.
Brought to popularity by Paris
Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who made it a cornerstone
of her successful 2020 reelection
campaign, the concept is being embraced
by planners in cities from Singapore to
Brooklyn to Portland, Oregon, all working
toward visions of their own version.
The 15-minute city highlights human
scale and decentralization as core themes
in pursuit of a more transparent, reliable,
and flexible transportation system. If people
live within a short distance of food suppliers,
health services, and employment,
they are less affected if the bus is late, the
subway floods, or a taxi is stuck in traffic.
Infrastructure is more than just bridges,
electrical grids, and water lines. President
Joe Biden, through his proposed American
Jobs Plan, elevated this idea by putting
broadband access, housing, and elder
care on the same plane as roads. His framing
of infrastructure as both physical and
social assets and networks is both novel
and obvious.
And it presents a critical moment for
decision-makers to think beyond just transportation
assets. As cities await federal
infrastructure funding, their planners would
do well to broaden their definition of what
infrastructure means and what it can look
like inside a 15-minute radius.
As the real estate industry commits to
addressing the world's greatest challenges
regarding equity, climate change, and resilience,
it must help broaden the discussion
to include a range of enabling urban systems
such as energy, water, food production,
and material infrastructure-and this
120
URBAN LAND
FALL 20 21
time design them both for and with the
people these systems serve.
" De-infrastructured " Systems
De-infrastructuring is a term I use to
describe the breaking down of large-scale
infrastructure systems, more closely connecting
supply (sources and distribution)
with demand, and creating communityscale
investment in urban systems. The
15-minute city represents the de-infrastructuring
of the transportation system. It
connects people to goods and services in
a carbon-free and-I would argue-more
equitable way. People in a 15-minute city
can understand the transportation system
and, in turn, are more likely to participate
in it, influence its design and operation,
and advocate for its function and form.
The 15-minute-city concept highlights
walkable or bikeable access to grocery
stores and restaurants but does not capture
the interconnection with the larger
food network-production, processing,
transportation, and waste handling. As currently
envisioned, the concept depends on
the larger food system to function. A local
alternative should strive to break down
heavier, unsustainable, and risk-prone
infrastructures-or at least complement
them. To limit the climate impact of the
food system and increase its resilience,
we need to de-infrastructure it.
De-infrastructuring energy systems
entails breaking down large-scale utility
generation and bringing distributed
power generation closer to the demand.
Microgrids, district thermal energy systems,
and integrated solar power deinfrastructure
the grid and provide a wide
range of community benefits.
De-infrastructured water systems would
bring more rainwater capture and reuse
STEVEN BAUMGARTNER/BUSS
Fall Issue 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fall Issue 2021
