The 15-Minute City Debate

Science skeptics have spent years attacking climate science, but more recently, post–COVID-19 conspiracy theorists have increasingly turned their attention to local urban planning. Misinformation campaigns have targeted concepts such as the 15-minute city, portraying planning best practices as a form of global social engineering driven by hidden agendas to restrict individual freedoms. In this context, we argue that urban planners and practitioners must better understand the nature of conspiracy claims while also distinguishing them from legitimate public concerns surrounding the 15-minute city model. As science skepticism and conspiracy narratives gain traction across sectors of society, we contend that researchers and city planners have a critical role to play in communicating evidence-based decision-making and engaging transparently with science-driven concerns.