Proximity is the future. 10-minute neighborhoods, 15-minute cities, 30-minute regions?

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On Sept. 17, the Department of Environment Construction and Design hosts a panel discussion on new urban development models based on proximity. The event accompanies ETH Zurich's traveling exhibition “Neighborhoods-of-10-minutes,” which can be visited first in Mendrisio and in October in Lugano.

On Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m., SUPSI's Department of Environment Construction and Design (DACD) will host a panel discussion open to the public on new urban development models based on the concept of “neighborhoods.” The initiative accompanies the presence in Ticino of the ETH Zurich's traveling exhibition “Neighborhoods-of-10-minutes,” which can be visited at the SUPSI Campus in Mendrisio from Sept. 13 to 27, 2024, and then at the SUPSI-USI East Campus in Lugano from Oct. 3 to 18, 2024.

A city in which all daily needs can be met with a few minutes of travel by foot or bicycle. This is the principle underlying urban development concepts that challenge the current settlement pattern based on spatial dispersion and the presence of the automobile: 10-minute neighborhoods, 15-minute cities, 30-minute regions. Different names, same underlying principle: quality of life improves if we can find everything we need within minutes of home, including work, education, health care, recreation and entertainment.

The time “freed up” from commuting provides new opportunities to do what is most satisfying. In addition, this settlement pattern maintains life in neighborhoods, fostering renewed social relationships and a greater sense of community and belonging to it. Finally, reducing dependence on cars allows for more green spaces, makes streets safer, reduces congestion, and lowers air and noise pollution in local communities, as well as global greenhouse gas emissions. The concept of “proximity” becomes the key word around which to set a new settlement pattern that promises benefits on an individual and collective level.

Reality or utopia? This will be discussed with leading figures from the worlds of planning, policy and research to see what concrete examples have already been implemented in other contexts, what are the possibilities of implementing similar principles in our latitudes, and whether this concept also brings with it some limitations. The panel discussion will be preceded by a short guided tour of the exhibition with curator Sibylle Wälty.

The panel discussion moderated by SUPSI researcher Francesca Cellina will be attended by:

  • Marianna Aliano - Blanco architecture architect, CAM'ON! housing cooperative member;
  • Grazia Bianchi - Citizens for the Territory of Mendrisiotto;
  • Jennifer Duyne Barenstein - Executive Director ETH Wohnforum - ETH CASE;
  • Francesca Luisoni - Deputy Mayor, Department of Planning and Public Spaces City of Mendrisio;
  • Sibylle Wälty - Lecturer ETH Wohnforum - ETH CASE.

The panel discussion complements the exhibition “Neighborhoods 10 minutes” hosted in September and October 2024 at the SUPSI Campus in Mendrisio and at the USI-SUPSI East Campus in Lugano, and is part of a broader path of activities promoted by CASSI - Cooperative Housing Section of Italian Switzerland and SUPSI, in collaboration with USI and the International Institute of Architecture. The initiative also enjoys contributions from the SPECIFIC project, funded by the European program “Driving Urban Transitions - DUT”.

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