15-Minute City 2022: Urban Design Competition 2022

15-Minute City 2022: Urban Design Competition 2022

After an overwhelming response to the first edition, theCharette is thrilled to announce the second edition of ‘15-Minute City’!

PREMISE

Before the lock-downs around the world, our lives were plagued by long commutes, leaving us with little time for ourselves, our families and our friends. Traffic polluted our air and smog blanketed our skylines. The pandemic hit the pause button on us. The switch to “working from home” made us question the futility of multi-hour commutes. What if we could reclaim our time, health, well-being and our communities for the better?

This is the idea behind a 15-minute city – a way to make urban living less stressful and more sustainable. A 15-minute city has affordable, accessible and adaptable housing for households of all sizes and ages. It is easy to get goods and services, healthcare, fresh groceries, and all other amenities. People can work close to home or work remotely more often. Many major cities such as Paris, Melbourne, Detroit, Portland and Ottawa have been working on similar concepts.
This annual competition encourages designers and planners to re-imagine our urban landscapes as cleaner, safer, healthier and more inclusive places to live!

THE CHALLENGE

Where everything is 15 minutes away – by foot, bicycle or public transit.

The “15-minute city” is an approach to urban design that aims to improve people’s quality of life by creating cities where everything a resident needs can be reached within 15 minutes by foot, bike or public transit. This concept puts an emphasis on careful planning at the neighbourhood level, giving each district the features it needs to support a full life – including jobs, food, recreation, green space, housing, healthcare facilities, small businesses and more. And importantly, it’s a full life that doesn’t require a car.

Participants are required to design a module for a 15-minute city that can be replicated to create a larger city. You can design a fictional city or re-design a small part of an existing city anywhere in the world. Remember, you don’t need to design an entire city – just a module that can be replicated to create a larger city. As a city planner/designer, you are also free to recommend rules and policies to help make the lives of your city’s occupants better.

SUBMISSION

Participants are required to submit 4 sheets (size 30cm x 30cm) as a combined PDF document for the ’15-Minute City 2022′ competition.

REGISTRATION & TIMELINE

’15-Minute City 2022′ is open to all creative people – architects, students, planners, interior designers, graphic designers, and all problem solvers! Design proposals can be developed individually or in teams of a maximum of 4 participants.

• Advance Entry: 15 Feb – 15 Mar 2022
• Early Entry: 16 Mar – 15 Apr 2022
• Standard Entry: 16 Apr – 15 May 2022
• Submission Deadline: 15 Jun 2022
• Results: 15 July 2022