The notion of the fifteen-minute city reimagines urban life by proposing that all essential services should be reachable within a short walk or bike ride, reducing dependency on private vehicles and fostering more liveable neighbourhoods. Yet behind its appealing simplicity lies a complex interplay of urban form, social inequality, and technological governance. In her doctoral thesis, Maté Sánchez de Val (2025) applies spatial data analysis and machine learning to assess walkability and accessibility across Madrid, revealing that socio-economic disparities significantly distort the egalitarian promise of the model. While the concept suggests proximity as a universal good, the actual distribution of services and pedestrian infrastructure remains uneven, disadvantaging vulnerable populations—particularly children. Her use of spatial probit models uncovers how variables such as income, education, and housing density correlate with limited pedestrian access, undermining claims of urban equality. Moreover, non-linear algorithmic findings illustrate that walkability is shaped not only by geography but by deeper structural logics embedded in planning histories. This thesis challenges the celebratory discourse of urban proximity, positioning the fifteen-minute city not as a ready-made solution but as a contested field requiring critical re-evaluation and policy reconfiguration to achieve genuine spatial justice.
Maté Sánchez de Val, A.P. (2025) Ciudad para las personas, ciudad para los coches: caminabilidad y factores socioeconómicos en las ciudades de 15 minutos mediante algoritmos de machine learning y datos de código abierto. PhD thesis. Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena.