Quarter-hour quarters – 15-minute city living in China

HONG KONG SAR 7 November 2023 – Cushman & Wakefield, a leading global real estate services firm, today released its annual Think-In report titled – Quarter-hour quarters – 15-minute city living in China.The urban area in China and its associated design, planning, development and operation, plays and will continue to play a big role in bringing transformational change to address the changing way people live. To understand and realise some of the beneficial living changes that result in sustainably developed urban environs in China, in our report the following topics are considered:

• The 15-minute city;
• What’s happening in China;
• Related policy;
• General urban planning;
• Urban public space;
• Transit-oriented development (TOD), and;
• Ecological solutions.

Our report also focuses on select commercial property sectors and chooses one subject topic for each sector that will also promote/augment a number of liveability factors within a 15-minute city urban community.

• The hybrid office – Technological advancement and digital change fast-tracked by the COVID-19 pandemic have been major implementors in the acceptance of the hybrid office working model globally and to a certain extent in China. Along with this transformation, 15-minute city related urban planning will also need to adapt.

• Community retail – A good retail offering is essential to a vibrant community, especially one that is walkable/cyclable. There are a number of ways retail can contribute to the success of 15-minute city communities but one of the most important is community retail.

• Last-mile logistics – On the industrial side, a major component which can impact the success of walkable/cyclable 15-minute cities is the execution of last-mile logistics infrastructure, especially given the expansion of ecommerce in China.

• Boutique neighbourhood hotels – Boutique neighbourhood hotels are a fairly new concept but given a greater emphasis on the overall stay experience in walkable/cyclable communities by a cross-section of hotel guests in China, this type of hotel is expected to be increasingly favoured for both leisure and business stay accommodation in the future.

Shaun Brodie, Head of Research Content, Greater China, Cushman & Wakefield said, “To bring about sustainable and beneficial urban development, one concept cities in China can look to further adopt and implement is the ’15-minute city’ concept. The 15-minute city is a fresh concept that promotes urban liveability. In a nutshell, the concept requires cities to be planned in such a way whereby citizens of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities in all parts of the urban area are able to gain access to their daily needs, such as lodging, employment, sustenance, health, education, culture and leisure and all be accessible within the distance of a 15-minute walk or bicycle ride”.

Please click here to download the full report