The Complete Neighborhood
Trends for almost two decades now is for most households to prefer to live where they can live, work, shop, recreate and find most of the services they require within a convenient distance – approximately 15 minutes away. Ideally, we are finding that many residents prefer the car trip to be less, and that they can access these conveniences by foot or bike in 15 minutes or less. Neighborhoods that immediately provide these everyday needed and desired amenities, we call Complete Neighborhoods.
Cities like Paris and Amsterdam have committed to creating Complete Neighborhoods. In Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has been an avid supporter since 2014, creating “people first” infrastructure in Paris’ neighborhoods that encourage walking, bicycling and more convenient use of transit. Seattle has begun the process of exploring the 15-minute city in preparation of its next Comprehensive Plan. Detroit, Portland, Boulder to name a few are also interested in integrating this concept into their future neighborhood planning.
Many of American small cities’ older urban neighborhoods were developed with many of the elements of a Complete Neighborhood.
As market trends changed in the 60’s and 70’s there was an exodus of services, with middle- and upper-income households not far behind. In most cases, the infrastructure that served these neighborhoods when they were vibrant remains.
In a post-pandemic environment, a return to more self-sufficient neighborhoods is an anticipated trend. Read CityLab article.
Neighborhoods designed to take advantage of the changing consumer, work, and leisure activity trends will likely become more attractive to marketplace looking for what is currently a rare commodity in the smaller communities. In addition, those residents that stayed committed to their neighborhoods will enjoy a renaissance of sorts and benefit from appreciated home and real estate values.
This redevelopment concept will serve as a lynchpin to the Neighborhood Opportunity Hub and Smart City concepts that are integral to the We Thrive 2040 Implementation Program.
