Boiling Point Introduces: Living Planet

Summary

Boiling Point Introduces: Living Planet – Episode Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Boiling Point
• Host/Author: L.A. Times Studios
• Description: Climate change is battering California. Can the state find a way forward? Listen every Thursday as award-winning L.A. Times columnist Sammy Roth dives deep with scientists, energy leaders, legislators, activists, and journalists who are experts on today's climate challenges and solutions. They’ll discuss everything from electric cars to renewable energy to the difficulties of phasing out fossil fuels.
• Episode Title: Boiling Point Introduces: Living Planet
• Release Date: May 15, 2025

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Introduction to 15-Minute Cities

The episode opens with Sammy Roth introducing an episode sourced from the German broadcaster DW’s podcast, Living Planet. The focus is on the concept of 15-minute cities, urban areas where residents can access most of their daily needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their homes. Roth highlights that major cities like Los Angeles, Paris, Barcelona, and Melbourne are striving to adopt this model to reduce oil consumption by encouraging walking, biking, and public transit usage.

Sammy Roth [00:01]: “From a climate perspective, what's great about this idea is you burn less oil when it's easier to walk, bike and take public transit. Everybody wins.”

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Origins and Concept Development

Carlos Moreno, a Colombian-born professor at Sorbonne University in Paris, is credited with developing the 15-minute city concept over two decades ago. Moreno's research emphasizes rethinking car-centric urban living to reduce the substantial carbon footprint of cities, which account for over half the world's population and approximately 70% of global CO₂ emissions.

Carlos Moreno [06:10]: “Cities take up no more than 4% of the land mass on the planet, but more than half the world's population live in them. Urban areas are responsible for an estimated 70% of global CO2 emissions.”

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Dan Lusha's Advocacy and Initiatives

Dan Lusha, a San Francisco resident and urban planning enthusiast, shares his personal journey towards advocating for 15-minute cities. Starting in 2019, Lusha sought to formalize his involvement by creating a digital presence dedicated to promoting walkable cities. He launched a website and social media accounts using the hashtag #15minutecity to raise awareness and foster discussions around reducing car dependency.

Dan Lusha [07:07]: “I set up a website, I set up an Instagram, I set up a Twitter account and started using the 15minutecity hashtag.”

Lusha reflects on his initial enthusiasm and the alignment of the 15-minute city framework with his vision for more sustainable urban environments.

Dan Lusha [05:30]: “To me, a 15 minute city is a city whose residents can access most of their needs within a 15 minute walk or bike ride from their home. It's that simple.”

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Public Backlash and Misinformation

Despite the apparent benefits, the 15-minute city concept has encountered significant backlash, particularly intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. The re-election campaign of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, which emphasized transforming Paris into a 15-minute city, coincided with controversial COVID lockdowns. This timing fueled conspiracy theories and misinformation, portraying the initiative as a mechanism for controlling personal freedoms and enforcing authoritarianism.

Unnamed News Anchor [09:55]: “Concentration camps for the New World Order agenda... trying to control every aspect of life.”

Lusha recounts receiving a surge of negative comments and even personal attacks online, including death threats directed at himself and his collaborator, Professor Moreno.

Dan Lusha [10:47]: “There was one person that posted on Instagram... 'We are all hoping you will die before it gets realized.'”

Carlos Moreno [12:11]: “You know he's received hundreds of death threats.”

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Addressing the Myths and Clarifications

Amidst the misinformation, it's crucial to clarify misconceptions about the 15-minute city model. A prevalent falsehood is the belief that 15-minute cities eliminate cars entirely, infringing on personal freedom. However, proponents like Lusha assert that the model does not aim to ban cars but rather to reduce their dominance in urban transportation, especially in densely populated areas.

Dan Lusha [13:56]: “Cars play a valuable role. I own a car. I love cars. They are not good for being the primary mode of transportation inside cities, particularly dense cities.”

By promoting a balanced approach, 15-minute cities aim to enhance urban livability and environmental sustainability without stripping away individual mobility options.

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Conclusion

The episode underscores the potential of 15-minute cities to mitigate climate change impacts by fostering sustainable urban living. However, it also highlights the challenges of public perception and misinformation, which can hinder the implementation of such progressive urban planning strategies. Advocates like Dan Lusha and Carlos Moreno emphasize the importance of education and dialogue to overcome resistance and realize the benefits of more walkable, bike-friendly cities.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Sammy Roth [00:01]: “From a climate perspective, what's great about this idea is you burn less oil when it's easier to walk, bike and take public transit. Everybody wins.”

• Dan Lusha [07:07]: “I set up a website, I set up an Instagram, I set up a Twitter account and started using the 15minutecity hashtag.”

• Carlos Moreno [06:10]: “Cities take up no more than 4% of the land mass on the planet, but more than half the world's population live in them. Urban areas are responsible for an estimated 70% of global CO2 emissions.”

• Dan Lusha [05:30]: “To me, a 15 minute city is a city whose residents can access most of their needs within a 15 minute walk or bike ride from their home. It's that simple.”

• Dan Lusha [13:56]: “Cars play a valuable role. I own a car. I love cars. They are not good for being the primary mode of transportation inside cities, particularly dense cities.”

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This episode of Living Planet offers a comprehensive exploration of the 15-minute city concept, its environmental benefits, the advocacy efforts behind it, and the societal challenges it faces. It serves as an insightful resource for anyone interested in sustainable urban development and the complexities of implementing large-scale environmental initiatives.

Transcript

[Sami Roth]

Hey, everybody, this is Sami Roth, climate columnist for the Los Angeles Times. The Boiling Point team is off this week, so instead we're bringing you an episode of the podcast Living Planet from the German broadcaster dw. Living Planet covers environmental stories, facts and debates from a global perspective. The episode they've shared with us today is about 15 minute cities, which basically means cities where you can get most of the places you need to go without a car within 15 minutes. Los Angeles is actually trying to become a 15 minute city. So are Paris, Barcelona and Melbourne, Australia. From a climate perspective, what's great about this idea is you burn less oil when it's easier to walk, bike and take public transit, Everybody wins. So why are advocates for 15 minute cities getting death threats? I'll hand it over to the team at Living Planet to fill you in.

[Dan Lusha]

Rather than park and then walk to the grocery store, I did a rare move and decided to drive into the parking lot. There's probably room for 35 cars or so in the front of the store. So I pull in and I pull around a corner that's right next to the front of the store where people are picking up their shopping carts. There's just barely enough room for the vehicle to pass through. And I'm trying to go through, being very careful because there's a lot of people there and there's cars coming from the other part of the parking lot. And I just had this aha moment. I'm sitting in this seven seater car, I'm trying to get around and then park my car so that I can walk into the store and buy maybe eight things that will fit into one grocery bag and drive three blocks home. It was definitely an aha moment. I thought, this is an absolutely ridiculous vehicle to be using for this purpose.

[Neil King]

Meet Dan Lusha, cyclist, drummer, engineer, San Francisco resident, trail runner and urban planning enthusiast.

[Dan Lusha]

Starting in college, I was really interested in environmental issues. And this was in the 1980s when climate change was slightly on the radar, but most people weren't really thinking about it. Air pollution was incredibly bad In California, where I grew up and I lived most of my life. I was very motivated to do something about creating environmental change. And so I got more and more involved and interested in the linkage between vehicles and air pollution and finding ways to make our cities or have our cities be less built around the car and specifically designed to accommodate the car.

[Neil King]

I remember from the 90s, there used to be this computer game, SimCity, I think it was called.

[Carlos Moreno]

And I remember playing that. And one of the problems that you always encountered when I was building my city that after a while if I.

[Neil King]

Built too many roads, there would be.

[Carlos Moreno]

Smog and it was always my city would start shrinking then because people would start leaving it. That computer game.

[Dan Lusha]

I've read that they did a lot of research. They became sort of mini urbanists when they developed that game. They read a lot of research that was up to date at the time. And so that effect is quite accurate.

[Carlos Moreno]

Did you play that by any chance?

[Dan Lusha]

I did, I did. I loved it. The difference of course is there's only one decision maker. You can effectively play God in that game. And real cities are much more complicated in terms of getting things done and making change.

[Neil King]

Conflicting interests might have always played a role in shaping the face of modern urban development in some way or another. But in recent years they've taken an unlikely and dark turn.

[Dan Lusha]

I saw a few emails come in through that web form in quick succession that had to do with 15 minute prisons and you're awful and you're scum and I don't want you to dominate the world. Something along those lines. And I had no idea where that was coming from. So that's when I was first introduced to the conspiracy theories. And then of course I had to go down the rabbit hole to learn more.

[Neil King]

Welcome to Living Planet. I'm Neil King and in this episode we're going to be exploring what are known as film 15 Minute Cities.

[Dan Lusha]

I mean, I personally live in a 15 minute city in San Francisco and I love it.

[Neil King]

You might also know them as walkable cities or even 20 minute cities. They all translate to pretty much the same concept and they're meeting a lot of unexpected pushback. So what exactly are they?

[Dan Lusha]

To me, a 15 minute city is a city whose residents can access most of their needs within a 15 minute walk or bike ride from their home. It's that simple.

[Neil King]

Put like that, it does sound simple. Positively benign. Yet as we've just heard, this innocuous sounding idea has faced backlash and unleashed conspiracy theories. We'll dig deeper into them in a little while, but first let's go back to the beginning. The 15 minute city concept is the work of scientist Carlos Moreno.

[Carlos Moreno]

He's a Colombian born professor at the.

[Neil King]

Sorbonne University in Paris and expert in complex systems. Over two decades ago, he starts exploring how to rethink car based urban living. Cities take up no more than 4% of the land mass on the planet, but more than half the world's population live in them. Urban areas are responsible for an estimated 70% of global CO2 emissions. And those emissions are driving the climate change that is connected to increasing extreme weather events around the world. Moreno sees the potential for reducing the carbon footprint of cities by addressing things like transport and infrastructure. Initially, he's just sharing with peers that his ideas soon begin to ripple out further. And for some people they are immediately relatable.

[Dan Lusha]

In late 2019, I was looking for a way to become a more formal part of the conversation. I around walkable cities and making cities better and less car dependent. And I looked around for good concepts that I thought were aligned with how I wanted to see cities change. I wanted to look at are people talking about 15 minute cities on Instagram and Twitter and on the various social media channels. And so I look at 15 minutecity and there was very little activity. And I thought, well, here's an opportunity to start talking about walkable cities using this 15 minute city frame. So I set up a website, I set up an Instagram, I set up a Twitter account and started using the 15minutecity hashtag.

[Carlos Moreno]

So you've got the domain 15minutecity.com. You were the first to snag that. And were you surprised yourself that it.

[Neil King]

Hadn'T been taken yet at the time?

[Dan Lusha]

Not really, because it was relatively obscure concept. I mean Carlos Moreno had been talking about it, I think using that particular phrase since 2016, but it was within pretty specific academic circles.

[Carlos Moreno]

When you first started blogging, was there a lot of interest to begin with?

[Dan Lusha]

It was a relatively small audience at the beginning.

[Neil King]

It's 2020 and Dan's biking and walking about San Francisco, writing and posting about the potential benefits of others getting around. In the same way, he's excited about the ideas he's found via Carlos Moreno about the potential climate benefits of reducing car traffic within cities, of offering residents greater choice. In fact, he's just happy to be part of the conversation. And it's all pretty quiet and easygoing. But then something changes. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, is re elected following a campaign to turn the French capital into a 15 minute city. She wants to make each little district or arrondissement more self sufficient. She wants them to have public green space, grocery shops, restaurants and cafes, education, sporting and health facilities. In short, she wants to transform Paris into a place where everything locals need can be found within 15 minutes of their home. All accessible with a short bike ride or walk. The plan is celebrated by some as a win for Paris and the climate. But it also coincides with controversial COVID lockdowns.

[Unnamed News Anchor]

The breaking news Stay at home. That is the order tonight from four state governors as the coronavirus as COVID 19 cases continue to surge across the country.

[Neil King]

Frustrated about restrictions on personal freedoms. Some interpret the 15 minute city idea as another way of controlling movement.

[Dan Lusha]

So there was legitimate concern over the lockdowns, there was harm to economic livelihoods and I think that got conflated given.

[Neil King]

That the last thing most people want during the COVID era is further restriction. The misinformation doing the rounds hits a nerve and it spreads. It's around that time that the that Dan starts to receive negative remarks in response to what he is posting about 15 minute cities.

[Unnamed News Anchor]

Concentration camps for the New World Order agenda. Take out all and any infrastructure you see before it's too late and we become 15 minute city prisoners trying to control every aspect of life.

[Neil King]

Authoritarianism in action.

[Unnamed News Anchor]

NWO control agenda.

[Neil King]

No thank you.

[Dan Lusha]

There'd be just sort of random comments. Somebody would say oh this is a great idea. I hope 15 minutes they just come to my town and the next comment would be something like 15 minute prison or no one would just walk in a cattle car willingly and things like that. But then there were some that got more personal. Like there was one person that posted on Instagram nice plans. We are all hoping you will die before it gets realized.

[Carlos Moreno]

Is that something you just shrug it off or does it start to get under your skin?

[Dan Lusha]

Honestly, I disregarded the whole thing or tried to for a few months until I saw that it was actually changing the discourse. I would say that's where it started to get me mad, not when they were attacking me. And to be clear, what I experienced was nothing compared to what Professor Carlos Moreno has had to face. You know he's received hundreds of death threats.

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[Neil King]

Even years after the lockdowns, the conversation around 15 minute cities is still rife with misinformation. So what else is driving the negative narrative? One thing that gets emotions flowing is cars, that great tin can beacon of personal freedom. One common falsehood doing the rounds is that a 15 minute city means zero cars.

[Sami Roth]

But.

[Neil King]

But does it?

[Dan Lusha]

It does not. Cars play a valuable role. I own a car. I love cars. They are not good for being the primary mode of transportation inside cities, particularly dense cities. Inside cities they can be a mix in certain circumstances.