Conspiracy Theorists Believe '15-Minute Cities' Are Actually Human Jails
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The concept of “15-minute cities” has conspiracy theorists—especially those on TikTok—concerned about confinement.
The basis of the urban design is that all everyday living necessities are within a 15-minute walking or biking route.
Conspiracy theorists believe the concept aims to restrict residents to specific zones.
The “15-minute city” concept is having more than 15 minutes of fame. That’s thanks to conspiracy theorists bashing the urban planning idea, saying it comes as a way to control city populations.
The basic framework of a 15-minute city is that everyday essentials, such as grocery stores, transit stops, schools, parks, and plenty more all come within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from your home. In 2015, a Paris-based professor named Carlos Moreno introduced his 15-minute city idea during a TED Talk, initially to help planners combat climate change and our society’s dependence on vehicle transportation.
In 2023, though, the 15-minute city extends beyond climate change and walkable neighborhoods. More than a few critics on social media—especially TikTok—have taken over the idea by saying any renewed push for the 15-minute city is simply a way to control citizens, track movements, limit mobility, and eventually create prison-like zones.
Think of it like a climate lockdown, the conspiracy theorists say:
The idea that neighborhoods should be walkable is lovely. The idea that idiot tyrannical bureaucrats can decide by fiat where you're "allowed" to drive is perhaps the worst imaginable perversion of that idea--and, make no mistake, it's part of a well-documented plan. https://t.co/QRrjVF615q
— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) December 31, 2022
The #Edmonton based eco-alarmists have gone off the deep end. Nuts. Crazy. Irrational. Bizarre proposal. pic.twitter.com/Y6ZuBUvZyT
— * W. Brett Wilson * (@WBrettWilson) January 27, 2023
Opponents of the 15-minute city structure say this European concept doesn’t translate well to the layout of North American city design and could potentially cause further inequality. But that’s a more academic debate around urban planning, economics, and gentrification.
The TikTok-style takedowns of the 15-minute city focus more on prison walls. Of course, it doesn’t help credibility of a concept when the World Economic Forum starts promoting it, leading even some of the most non-conspiracy theorists to start thinking a conspiracy is at play.
Still, the basic concept of the 15-minute city—being able to walk to a grocery store from your home—is more old-world neighborhood that isn’t dependent on cars than walled-in neighborhood prisons.
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