15 Minute Cities

That Jekka Gal · 2026-01-27T17:58:50+0000

So, the Govt have, apparently, given the green light to these to be rolled out across the country with Oxford being the first to enact a system later this year.

Thoughts?

Proponents say you will have everything you need on your doorstep and you shouldn't need to access other areas of town by car.

Critics point out that the enforcement behind this is draconian - as a resident, you can apply for a permit which will allow you to leave your sector 100 times per year by car in order to access another sector & these movements will be tracked by cameras with fines imposed for any transgressions. Alternatively, you can drive all the way out of town, access the ring road and at some point thereafter, drive back into town and into the sector you wish to access.

My own thoughts - great if they enact a framework in which different areas would have all the amenities a resident would need but I'm sceptical of this being achievable. And if it's so great, why do they need to back it up with coercive measures to restrict you from moving around by car.

I guess the devil will be in the detail - exceptions for people who have to drive across town to care for an elderly relative, people for whom cycling or walking isn't an option etc.

Traffic filters will divide city into six "15 minute" neighbourhoods

Traffic filters will divide city into six "15 minute" neighbourhoods, said the county's highways councillor.

www.oxfordmail.co.uk

whitecrook · 2026-01-27T18:06:33+0000

That Jekka Gal said:
as a resident, you can apply for a permit which will allow you to leave your sector 100 times per year by car in order to access another sector & these movements will be tracked by cameras with fines imposed for any transgressions.

What? this can't be true I haven't seen this reported anywhere

Terminal_Boy · 2026-01-27T18:12:09+0000

Resist with maximum prejudice.

Pen66 · 2026-01-27T18:17:11+0000

Haven't heard this in a while. Source?

Kenai · 2026-01-27T18:22:07+0000

15 minute cities as a planning concept does not necessitate anything beyond ensuring that all key amenities are available within given timescales/distances.

The stuff about people being banned from leaving their locality is, as far as i've ever been able to determine, complete nonsense.

That Jekka Gal said:
So, the Govt have, apparently, given the green light to these to be rolled out across the country with Oxford being the first to enact a system later this year.

Thoughts?

This thread probably ought to start with a decent link to whatever it is you've read that says the the government have "apparently" given this green light, so the discussion can actually focus on something of substance

That Jekka Gal · 2026-01-27T18:28:59+0000

Pen66 said:
Haven't heard this in a while.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...or-stalinist-15-minute-cities-across-britain/. (paywall)

Labour has approved a rollout of “Stalinist” 15-minute cities across the UK, The Telegraph can reveal.

Ministers have said that they will allow councils to use driver licence databases to impose fines on drivers who fall foul of “traffic filters”, which restrict driving in certain areas.

The controls on motorists, which are to be implemented for the first time in Oxford city centre later this year, have been described as “perverse” by motor groups.

The 15-minute city is based on the idea that a person can access amenities within a quarter of an hour by walking or cycling. In some cases, this could result in traffic restrictions being brought in for drivers.

The most high-profile example of such a plan is in Oxford, where the council put forward proposals to divide the city into six “15-minute neighbourhoods”.

Under the scheme, drivers would need a residents’ permit that allows 100 days of free travel per year through six traffic filters during operating hours.

Meanwhile, a separate permit allows 25 days of free travel per year through six congestion charge locations during charging hours, and after this, drivers face fines if they travel without the relevant permission.

Shoza · 2026-01-27T18:30:23+0000

OP feels like an AI bot..

Kenai · 2026-01-27T18:35:28+0000

As suspected, you've bundled the traffic filters in Oxford, which are there to stop rat running between different areas of the city directly through the centre and reduce inner city traffic by pushing traffic out to the ring road that's designed to handle the traffic with some broader conspiracy to stop people leaving their own sectors.

Koalaboy · 2026-01-27T18:40:18+0000

We're doing this again ?

Bonkers '15-minute cities' conspiracy theory, debunked

15-minute cities are the new hot button issue, becoming fodder for conspiracy theories online. The Big Issue explains what it really is.

www.bigissue.com

As has been explained in multiple places for the last few years, the principle is that people shouldn't *need* to drive through congested areas... their local area has most things they need, and then there are plenty of non-congested roads to transit elsewhere....

If you are the sort of person that wants to rat-run through residential districts rather than use the planned ring-roads and wider transit options, then I have no sympathy.

Some people do need to traverse those roads, but then that's where the permits come in.

The fact that the government is being blamed, especially as this is from before the party change, and that it's down to the councils, is just as telling.

But I guess we need more conspiracies again, now that the 'Real World' is getting crazy.

That Jekka Gal · 2026-01-27T18:49:48+0000

Kenai said:
As suspected, you've bundled the traffic filters in Oxford, which are there to stop rat running between different areas of the city directly through the centre and reduce inner city traffic by pushing traffic out to the ring road that's designed to handle the traffic with some broader conspiracy to stop people leaving their own sectors.

No, I haven't.. I've just copied and pasted the first couple of paragraphs from thTelegraph article.

As I said in my OP, I'm undecided until I see the finer detail.

Kenai · 2026-01-27T18:54:14+0000

That Jekka Gal said:
No, I haven't...

You have, though no doubt you'll claim just because you've labelled this absolute drivel as 'critics point out' with no actual source that you didn't:

That Jekka Gal said:
Critics point out that the enforcement behind this is draconian - as a resident, you can apply for a permit which will allow you to leave your sector 100 times per year by car in order to access another sector & these movements will be tracked by cameras with fines imposed for any transgressions.

Not being able to go through half a dozen rat runs around the city centre at particular times because they've been 'gated' is not a general restriction on being able to 'leave your sector' or anything of the sort.

squerble · 2026-01-27T19:01:42+0000

Absolutely unserious post. Most UK cities are already 15 minute cities - you can get to most amenities within 15 minutes, be that walking or public transport. That's it. That's all 15 minute cities are.

Only morons peddle conspiracy theories around this concept.

adidan · 2026-01-27T19:05:51+0000

Nonsense thread needs deleting from SC

That Jekka Gal · 2026-01-27T19:08:20+0000

Kenai said:
You have, though no doubt you'll claim just because you've labelled this absolute drivel as 'critics point out' with no actual source that you didn't:

Not being able to go through half a dozen rat runs around the city centre at particular times because they've been 'gated' is not a general restriction on being able to 'leave your sector' or anything of the sort.

Well, I suggest you go and read the Telegraph article but I'd maybe let your blood pressure subside a little first.....

Kenai · 2026-01-27T19:10:55+0000

That Jekka Gal said:
Well, I suggest you go and read the Telegraph article but I'd maybe let your blood pressure subside a little first.....

Or you could put the effort in and find something of substance that isn't pay walled to try and back up some of the rubbish you've posted.

Ayahuasca · 2026-01-27T19:12:37+0000

Why does the mention of these seem to trigger the gammons so much?

adidan · 2026-01-27T19:14:55+0000

Ayahuasca said:
Why does the mention of these seem to trigger the gammons so much?

Lol.i ain't no gammon but an SC thread with no link of evidence to a big claim is nonsensical.

I don't consider paywalled links as links if I still can't see the information.

Ayahuasca · 2026-01-27T19:20:54+0000

adidan said:
Lol.i ain't no gammon but an SC thread with no link of evidence to a big claim is nonsensical.

I don't consider paywalled links as links if I still can't see the information.

Not sure why you think that was aimed at you.

squerble · 2026-01-27T19:23:43+0000

Ayahuasca said:
Why does the mention of these seem to trigger the gammons so much?

Because all they've heard about it is right-wing US conspiracy theories pushed on FB.

That Jekka Gal · 2026-01-27T19:26:14+0000

Kenai said:
Or you could put the effort in and find something of substance that isn't pay walled to try and back up some of the rubbish you've posted.

This is from the Oxford Mail when the plan was originally proposed in 2022. Make of it what you will.....

Traffic filters will divide city into six "15 minute" neighbourhoods

Traffic filters will divide city into six "15 minute" neighbourhoods, said the county's highways councillor.

www.oxfordmail.co.uk

"
People can drive freely around their own neighbourhood and can apply for a permit to drive through the filters, and into other neighbourhoods, for up to 100 days per year. This equates to an average of two days per week.

The alternative is to drive out on to the ring road and then back in to the destination."....

...which is moreorless exactly what I posted in my "drivel" above.