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Say you’re cooking a meal, and realize you’re missing an ingredient. Or perhaps you’re putting up a shelf and realize you need a specific type of screw. Or maybe you have a date later and would love to get a haircut, if only you had the time. Imagine if all those things were just across the street, or a short walk from your house. If you don’t need to imagine it, congratulations - you probably live in a 15-minute neighbourhood! And if you don’t, you’re not alone. Far too often, our neighbourhoods just aren’t walkable.
Decades of urban sprawl has left many communities spread out and lacking access to daily amenities without the use of a car. This has saddled us with long commutes, air pollution, traffic congestion, road fatalities, and a climate crisis. We can and must do better, by building communities that prioritize accessibility, convenience, and sustainability. In other words, mixed-use developments and vibrant, walkable neighbourhoods.
15-Minute neighbourhoods are communities where most daily necessities and services—such as work, food, shopping, education, healthcare, and leisure—can be easily reached within a 15-minute walk (or even less via rolling, biking, or public transit). From shorter commute times and less pollution, to enhanced social cohesion and a greater sense of belonging, 15-minute neighbourhoods promise a multitude of benefits that contribute to a more vibrant, equitable, and sustainable city for all residents.
Right now, we have an opportunity to move our neighbourhoods from auto-dependence to complete neighbourhoods. The City of Ottawa's new draft Zoning By-law features allowances for higher densities near hubs, main corridors, and transit stations; low-rise infill in residential areas; and more local amenities. This is a critical and welcome step, but the City can be bolder in pursuing much needed zoning reform. Partnering with Walkable Ottawa, we have outlined three simple policy changes the city could make to promote complete neighbourhoods. Together, these would help Ottawa unlock the value of 15-minute neighbourhoods.
The value of 15-minute neighbourhoods:
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Low emissions
By reducing the need to drive for those that do, we can tackle one of our top sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning to 15-minute neighbourhoods would also mean zoning for multi-unit, low- to mid-rise buildings that share insulation and heat, with built-in bike storage, and shared amenities. This translates to housing with a vastly smaller ecological footprint than detached housing units.
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Healthier
People who live in complete, walkable neighbourhoods, especially with trees, community gardens, and better access to parks, tend to be happier and healthier.
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Accessible
People young and old may feel stuck living in areas where they are dependent on someone else for a ride, especially if they have a mobility issue. $16,000 a year in average annual car expenses also hit lower income families particularly hard. More transportation options and more amenities in neighbourhoods helps build community.
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Financial viability
Car-centric planning is not only ecologically unsustainable, but financially too. The cost to widen and maintain roads is staggering, and newer suburbs cost the City $465 more to service per household than they contribute in property taxes, mixed-use. Complete neighbourhoods generate more tax revenue for public goods and services.
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Biodiversity
15-minute neighbourhoods mean more space for nature. Reduced car dependency means less car infrastructure, and therefore less paved surface—leaving more room for trees, gardens, bioswales, and even tiny forests. Well-designed cities can bring us closer to nature!
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Resilience
Climate change is bringing extreme weather, like storms, heavy precipitation, drought, and heat. 15-minute neighbourhoods help us withstand these. Trees and plants help absorb stormwater and cool neighbourhoods, and residential density makes delivering emergency services more efficient. Urban diversity also builds community, meaning social networks and solidarity that promote local democracy and organizing—the lifeblood of positive social change!
In partnership with Walkable Ottawa and supported by the Ottawa Climate Action Fund as well as our passionate volunteers, we are committed to building upon our past work by advocating for a stronger Zoning By-law in 2025!
