Beyond the Western paradigm: re-evaluating the 15-minute city through the lens of Japanese transit-oriented urbanism

Abstract

The 15-minute city, formalised by Carlos Moreno in 2016, has become a dominant framework for sustainability discourse. Yet its diffusion from Paris to Melbourne and Portland has proceeded without interrogating whether a home-centred proximity model is universally applicable. This viewpoint argues that Japan’s century-long experiment with station-centred urbanism constitutes both a historical antecedent and a structural alternative to the Western paradigm. Drawing on a comparative policy analysis across four contexts, we identify a key divergence: Western cities seek to create walkability lost to automobile dependence, whereas Japanese cities struggle to sustain existing transit-oriented walkability under demographic contraction. Japan’s response operates through three interlocking policy layers – compact city planning, walkable city promotion, and urban regeneration – each governed by the same legislation but targeting distinct spatial scales. We propose “networked proximity” – a model in which local liveability is achieved not through isolated neighbourhood clusters but through high-frequency rail connectivity – as a necessary complement to current 15-minute city thinking.