The Mayor of Paris says that she wants to make the French capital a so-called "15-minute city."

Anne Hidalgo has backed an idea conceived by Colombian academic, Carlos Moreno.

The theory is that most people's needs would be within 15 minutes of where they lived. 

How will it work?

The 15-minute city plan would see people's workplaces, their children's schools, sport centers where they exercise, cafes and restaurants where they meet their friends, and the stores they shop in… all be within a 15-minute walk or short bike ride from their home.

Carlos Moreno is a professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris, where he lectures on the "Entrepreneurship, Territory, Innovation" program that he co-founded.

"With climate change and the pandemic crisis, we needed to implement another urban lifestyle for living in proximity," he said.

"[We should be] using more and better resources, reducing our CO2 emissions, and to continue to develop economic and social activities in the different districts of cities."

Urban travel is a central pillar of the plan: Paris is fast becoming a big biking city. Temporary cycle lanes were introduced last year at the height of the pandemic, but now those 60 kilometers of makeshift paths are being made permanent by the mayor of Paris.

Parisians tried to get back to normal after lockdown but they wanted to stay off crowded buses and trains where COVID-19 spread more easily.

Anne Hidalgo has declared war on the pollution caused by motorists, cutting the number of car parking places, increasing electric vehicle charging points and dropping the speed limit in the French capital to just 30 kilometers an hour.

The mayor of Paris is an advocate of the 15-minute city idea. Hidalgo says she's going to run for president next year so Carlos Moreno's theory is likely to get more press and it will have to withstand more analysis and criticism about its viability.

Improving the urban landscape is also part of the plan. At the Place de la Bastille, in eastern Paris, trees have been planted and the canal-side area cleaned up.

The 15-minute city plan could work well in rich countries, like France.

But what about the cities in emerging economies? Moreno says there is interest in Latin America and Asia in changing city life.

"In India, it's a very chaotic urban planning in different big cities but those in charge are very interested in changing this model.

"In China, two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to deliver a talk for the principal urban planner for the big metropolises in China."

The effects of the climate emergency are being felt across the world, and Moreno says there must be rapid policy changes, or the next ten years could be 'catastrophic.'

"The question today is not to avoid climate change - this is not possible today," he said.

"The key word today is: mitigation. We need to reduce the impact of climate change."