Praise for The 15-Minute City

“Carlos Moreno has done cities and society a great service by showing us the vital importance of the 15-minute city, where we can work, send our children to school, shop, and carry out all of life's crucial activities in close proximity to where we live. Paris and leading cities around the world have embraced this concept. This book is a must-read for mayors, urbanists, and everyone who cares about cities.”

—Richard Florida
Author, The Rise of the Creative Class

“With his new book, Carlos Moreno provides a major contribution to architects, urban planners, and city authorities by proposing pragmatic solutions for humanizing cities in all climatic environments and on all five continents. Restoring proximity in today's urban landscapes is a program capable of ameliorating the quality of life and the well-being of people. Innovative ideas and urban planning approaches are a hope for achieving the social cohesion missing today when social, economic, and environmental inequalities threaten communities worldwide and disproportionally affect the poor. I congratulate the author and hope that the book will reach a larger audience and be read not only by professionals but also politicians.”

—Regina Gonthier
President of the International Union of Architects UIA

“The simple power of proximity—making sure we have more things we need and want close by—is one of the most important bedrocks of better city-making, and no city has presented it better than Paris under the leadership of Anne Hidalgo and supported by the concepts of Carlos Moreno. More cities and communities are translating this critical concept into real urban change, and that's a really important thing for our future. We have Carlos to thank for that.”

—Brent Toderian
City Planner and Global Advisor to Cities;
Former Chief Planner, Vancouver, Canada

“By placing the citizen at the heart of urban planning, Professor Moreno unveils an innovative exploration of the 15-minute city concept. This transformative approach reshapes our cities and communities, making them better and happier places to live, work, and thrive.”

—Narek Arakelyan
Secretary General, FIABCI (The International Real Estate Federation)

“Carlos's concept of a 15-minute city is simple—and powerful. Half of all urban homes that will exist within our children's lives do not exist today. We have a magnificent opportunity to build and improve today's cities following the exquisite advice in this book. Everyone who likes people and cities should read it, especially decision-makers.”

—Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa
Founder, 8 80 Cities

“What we intuitively know is essential to urban life is much too often lost or forgotten—it has become invisible to the eye. Being able to interpret these basic human needs into concept, and translating that concept into policy, is the genius of the 15-minute city. Instead of seeking to create a formula, or a design manual, Professor Moreno is formulating what is essential for life in the cities to thrive: proximity.”

—Jesper Eis Eriksen
Executive Director, Henrik F. Obel Foundation

“For millennia, cities have been prodigious engines of commerce and culture, yet nowadays, they are mostly an unqualified mess of cars, long commutes, soullessness, and stress. The 15-Minute City convincingly narrates the electrifying possibilities of a different city life, one that reinscribes humanness, proximity, connections, and well-being at the center of the urban fabric.”

—Bruno Giussani
Author; Global Curator, TED

“What is the 15-minute city? It's the city of proximity, where you can find everything you need within 15 minutes of your home. This is a prerequisite for the ecological transformation of the city, while at the same time improving the daily lives of Parisians.”

—Anne Hidalgo
Mayor, Paris

“The urban agenda is the space in which we will win the excitement and commitment of citizens to the revolution of green and social progress. The 15-minute cities are that brilliant idea that turns the complex into the simple, the transformative into the attractive, with a common thread to think and test the changes. We must thank Carlos Moreno for helping us to understand and promote the necessary changes—to conquer clean, healthy, and close cities, on a human scale, for the neighbors.”

—Teresa Ribera
Vice President, Spain; Minister, the Ecological
Transition and the Demographic Challenge

“Through this book, Carlos Moreno guides us to a world at a human scale, redesigned to bring urbanized spaces back to the people who inhabit them. The concept of the 15-minute city inspires us to transform our cities so that quality of life and well-being are put at the center. No doubt that this idea has been and will be embraced by so many cities in Europe and elsewhere as one of the paradigms of how cities are confronting the climate crisis.”

—Júlia López Ventura
Regional Director for Europe, C40 Cities

“My dear Carlos, I fully admire your work.”

—Edgar Morin
Sociologist, writer, father of complexity analysis

“Carlos Moreno's work on the 15-minute city combines a wonderfully clear, and even old-fashioned, idea—that we should all be able to get around our neighborhoods and easily reach most of the people and things we need within a ‘happy proximity’—with cutting-edge scientific findings on urban networks and complex adaptive systems. I think that's why this work has broken through to a global audience and started a much-needed debate about the mistakes we've made and the reforms we will need. We have to do better—and we can, as this important book demonstrates.”

—Michael W. Mehaffy, PhD
Executive Director, International Making Cities Livable (IMCL)

“Carlos Moreno rescues the forgotten paths of a humanist, solidarity, and inclusive urbanism, respectful of all the ecosystems that make up the complexity of a city and anchored in the circular economy.”

—Carmen Santana
Architect, urban planner, 2021 Spanish
urban planning award recipient

“The 15-minute city popularized by Professor Carlos Moreno proposes a positive and comprehensive approach for the ecological revolution that humanity urgently needs to adopt. In early 2020, C40 was the first global organization to support this concept, encouraging mayors across the world to adopt the 15-minute city concept as part of their green and just transition. Today, we are joining forces with Professor Carlos Moreno to call for a new model of urbanism that is built in harmony with people and nature.”

—Hélène Chartier
Director of Urban Planning and Design, C40 Cities

“Carlo Moreno's highly inspiring book is an essential work for renewing urban planning frameworks and practices. As a performance piece, it is a veritable guide to imagining desirable sustainable urban futures.”

—Vincent Kaufmann
Professor, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale
de Lausanne (EPFL)

“When I think about Carlos Moreno's 15-minute city concept, it is more than just a novel way to organize our urban communities. What Carlos really teaches us is that we must think and act differently in order to create a better life for everyone who lives in cities. It's a bonus that he proposes a formula that can deliver a better future for all of us. Bravo, Carlos!”

—Dr. Jonathan Reichental
Founder, Human Future; professor; author

“Carlos Moreno's work joins and builds upon a great tradition of urban thinking and activism, asking and answering this basic question: How is it best to live in cities? The state of our planet—and perhaps of humanity itself—hinges upon how we shape and manage urban centers. Carlos Moreno has defined clear visions of the way forward. Building on the great work of his predecessors—Lewis Mumford, Jane Jacobs, Camillo Sitte, and others—Carlos Moreno lays out a clear and compelling course for the world's cities, today and well into the future.”

—Thomas Vonier
FAIA, RIBA; Former President, American Institute of Architects (2017);
Former President, International Union of Architects (2017–2021)

“Beyond the confines of car-centric celebrations, it becomes evident that our planet would find greater happiness in embracing this alternative. The narrative of The 15-Minute City unfolds as a remarkable tale of transformative urban planning. It champions sustainability, resilience, and an elevated quality of life, all while drawing inspiration from the rich tapestry of cultural and social values. In this journey, I take immense pride in my affiliation with a network of visionary leaders like Carlos Moreno from across the globe who share an unwavering commitment to this cause.”

—Gaetan Siew
Former President, International Union
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