Evaluating the potential of deploying 15-minute city strategies in urban outskirts. The case of Las Rozas (Madrid, Spain)
Creators: name: Lopez-Carreiro, Iria
name: Brownrigg-Gleeson, Mari Luz
name: Ibraeva, Anna
name: MONZON, Andres
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023

description: The 15-minute city is defined as an urban set-up where locals are able to access all of their basic essentials at distances that would not take them more than 15 minutes by foot or by bicycle. The concept is built upon 4 pillars: density, proximity, diversity, and digitalisation, which are key in making the 15-minute city a reality and are often present in urban centres. However, when it comes to urban outskirts, conditions are less favourable to implement this city model, making it challenging to achieve. Density is lower and connectivity is often insufficient. Proximity becomes unattainable through clean and active modes, leading to car-dependent lifestyles that have negative impacts on residents' quality of life, in terms of health, time and money. Diversity is scarce, with little built environment variety, land use mix or services. Within this framework, digitalisation seems to have a central role in bridging the distance between current suburban areas and the 15-minute city model.
Considering that 66% of the European population lives in suburbs, it is urgent to explore ways to achieve the goals of the 15-minute city in the peripheries. In response to this challenge, this investigation evaluates the potential of deploying successful 15-minute city strategies in urban outskirts in the frame of ICT-based tools, taking into consideration the case study of Las Rozas, located approximately 20km from the centre of Madrid (Spain).
Las Rozas is a very disperse municipality with a considerable extension. It has rather small central area that is comparatively dense and mixed-use, but beyond that, the municipality is divided into three large monofunctional areas: (1) residential (with mostly single-family or semidetached housing), (2) commercial (with two large fashion outlets that attract a large deal of commercial tourism), and (3) industrial (EURÓPOLIS). Spatial segregation of Las Rozas is aggravated by three main highways (A-6, M-505 and M-50) that run through the municipality, resulting in a car-dependant and fragmented setting, with great challenges for the management of the mobility at internal level.
After a thorough analysis of local characteristics and capacities, we identify six main lines of action that could help to boost the 4 pillars of the 15-minute city in the suburban municipality under study: (1) incorporating digital twins for mobility management and LEZ monitoring, (2) improving the provision of real-time information through multimodal travel planners, (3) implementing park&ride and bike&ride facilities, (4) promoting the integration of the new shared- and micro-mobility schemes with the public transport services, (5) improving the design of public space with a priority for active mobility, and (6) limiting car access (LEZ).
Finally, it is worth noting that this investigation is part of the European project FORTHCOMING (FOsteRing THe City Of proximity through Maas INteGration), which has the ultimate objective is to develop a set of systematic guidelines to foster a successful transfer of city centre strategies to suburban areas, enhancing the transition to climate-neutral, liveable, and inclusive cities.
Keywords: 15-min-city, urban outskirts, transferability.