COMMENT:
Lockdown forced all of us, in different ways, to reconsider where we want to live, work and socialise. But it has also empowered those who wish to impose a particular way of life on us.
The big idea of the moment is the "15-minute city", coined by Professor Carlos Moreno, a Franco-Colombian urbanist based at the Sorbonne. The aim is for all the everyday necessities – work, shops, entertainment, education and healthcare – to be within 15 minutes on foot or by bike. La ville du quart d'heure was a key theme for Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, in her successful re-election campaign (Moreno is an adviser). Since lockdown, Hidalgo has hit the accelerator pedal on her "Paris Respire" programme, turning miles of road lanes into cyclist-friendly "corona pistes". Perhaps it is just a coincidence that the population of inner Paris has over the past few years begun to decline.
Much the same has been happening in the UK – particularly in London. Under the cover of the Covid "emergency", cycle lanes have proliferated, side streets have been blocked off and even pedestrianised, and parking spaces have been closed. It's no wonder that there have been protests. Islington Council, for example, has used coronavirus emergency powers to shut off roads without consultation using "experimental traffic orders". In turn, protesters have stopped traffic along one major route, Upper Street, and warned that demonstrations will continue until councillors perform a U-turn.
