Making Cleveland a 15-minute city: Experts say it's a real possibility

Imagine a Cleveland where everything you need is less than 15 minutes away.

Mayor Justin Bibb says Cleveland wants to be the first 15-minute city in North America, introducing the concept during his State of the City speech Wednesday. The urban planning model is not brand new; it first took off in Paris, but has gained in popularity during the pandemic.

"The basic concept of a 15-minute city is this ideal planning framework where human needs and desires are accessible within a 15-minute walk, bicycle ride, or transit trip," Matt Moss, a planner with Cleveland City Planning Commission, explained. "That's really what we're striving for in this new planning model."

Instead of a concrete jungle where people work and separate places where people live, in a so-called 15-minute city, everything is closer. Moss says it doesn't have to be a dream.

"It's starting out with the city we have now," he said, "and then asking residents how they might want their community to grow or change in ways that, again, make things accessible or provide them with more opportunities to access the things they want to get to in their day to day lives."