Is my city a 15-minute city? Analysing Aarhus and Copenhagen

  • City Insights

Some weeks back, we dove into the 15-minute city concept, which aims to make urban areas adapt to humans, and not the other way around. We could say that the benefits of the 15-minute cities are clear, but how far from them are our current cities? To understand this, we first have to measure our cities of today by their reachability.

This time we fly to Denmark to roam around its beautiful neighbourhoods’ data and insights, concretely in Aarhus and Copenhagen. In our analysis, we will follow the three levels of sheds that are used as standards in the 15-minute city concept.

15-minute city shed levels diagram
“15-minute city” shed levels diagram. Source: Public Square: A CNU Journal (Congress for the New Urbanism)

The three shed levels are:

1.The 5-minute walk shed, indicating the individual neighbourhood, which must have ordinary daily needs, a range of housing types, small businesses, and a center (e.g., public square or main street).

2.The 15-minute walk shed, the maximum distance that most people are going to walk, which must have a full mix of uses to provide for weekly and daily needs, including a grocery store, pharmacy, general merchandise, and public schools. Also, larger parks that serve multiple neighbourhoods, larger employers, and access to regional transit (at least one station). This shed is similar in size to a 5-minute bicycle shed. 

3.The 15-minute bicycle shed provides access to special needs, such as major cultural, medical, and higher education facilities, regional parks, major employers, and intercity transit.

Reachability of Aarhus, the cultural hub

Aarhus is Denmark’s second-largest city and Jutland’s largest, with an urban population of around 280,000.  Aarhus is the lively cultural hub of Jutland, as Danish youths flock here to study, innovate and start businesses. It’s also one of the oldest cities in Scandinavia.

Aarhus in numbers:

  • Total inhabitants: 355,200; Inhabitant density: 2,874/km2
  • Top 3 services: Restaurants (593), Speciality stores (547) & Playgrounds (348)
  • Average service density: 1.3; Most service-dense 250×250 area: 70 services (Fig. 1)
  • Average service diversity: 0.69/1; Most service-diverse 250×250 area: 0,74/1 (Fig. 2)
Service Density analysis Aarhus
Fig. 1: Service Density analysis. 250x250m area in Aarhus with the highest Service Density in 2022.
Fig. 2: Service Diversity analysis. In grey, 250x250m areas in Aarhus with the highest Service Diversity in 2022.

Taking one of the areas with the highest Service Diversity in Aarhus as a central point, we can go one step further and calculate the extension around it that would comprise the 15-minute city of a person living there. In other words, the Reachability.

This way, we zoom into Trøjborg, a neighbourhood developed as a working-class district in response to rapid population growth in the early 20th century, with a population of approximately 11.000 inhabitants. The exact area measured has its centre in the crossing between Nordre Ringgade and Skovvangsvej, North-East from the University of Aarhus. 

Fig. 3: Shed 1 - 5-minute walk - Service diversity score of 0.65/1
Fig. 4: Shed 2 - 15-minute walk - Service diversity score of 0.71/1
Fig. 5: Shed 3 - 15-minute cycling - Service diversity score of 0.71/1

It appears that the diversity of the services reached in a 15-minute walk is not less than that reached in a 15-minute bike trip. However, we can observe how, when reduced to a 5-minute walk, no cultural and leisure services can be reached.

Reachability of Copenhagen, the capital of hygge

Greater Copenhagen is a trendy, vibrant, and sustainable metropolis with an ingrained cycling culture. Its districts have distinctive characters and represent different periods. Copenhagen is recognised globally as an exemplar of best practice urban planning.

Copenhagen in numbers:

  • Total inhabitants 650.000; Inhabitant density: 4,400/km2
  • Top 3 services: Speciality stores (2.632), Restaurants (2.230), and Cafes (855)
  • Average service density: 9.4; Most service-dense 250×250 area: 128 services  (Fig. 6)
  • Average service diversity: 96/1; Most service-diverse 250×250 area: 0,83/1 (Fig. 7)
Fig. 6: Service Density analysis. 250x250m area in Copenhagen with the highest Service Density in 2022.
Fig. 7: Service Diversity analysis. 250x250m area in Copenhagen with the highest Service Diversity in 2022.

Copenhagen’s most service-diverse area is in Amager Øst district, with centre in Strandslosvej, between Lergravsvej and Jenagade. Amager Øst has a population of 49.705, and its very own identity, as it’s located on an island, with bridge connections across the harbour to central Copenhagen. It is  home to Amager Strandpark, the most popular beach among Copenhageners.

Most of the services in this area are located along Amagerbrogade, the main shopping street. The most common services in the area are Restaurants (253), Speciality stores (221), and Outdoor sports facilities (131). 

Despite the high service density, there are no care services in the area, for example, elderly homes.

Fig. 8: Shed 1 - 5 minute walk - Service Diversity score of 0.72/1
Fig. 9: Shed 2 - 15 minute walk - Service Diversity score of 0.75/1
Fig. 10: Shed 3 - 15 minute cycling - Service Diversity score of 0.74/1

Based on our quick analysis, Amager Øst (Copenhagen) has 1,5 times higher Service Density than Trøjborg (Aarhus), but also 4,5 times more population. This means that the number of services per inhabitant is lower in Amager Øst. However, the diversity of the services is quite similar in both cities. 

Furthermore, It is interesting to note that the Service Diversity score in Amager Øst reveals that its inhabitants would be reaching a good share of services by walking 15 minutes and wouldn’t need to resort to cycling, at least from an accessibility perspective.

All the main services, including cultural and leisure amenities, are reachable even with a 5-minute walk, making this a good 5-minute neighbourhood candidate from the service provision perspective.

The importance of a 15-minute city perspective is greater than ever

The recent pandemic has reshaped our commuting habits. As our neighbourhoods become our workplace locations, a more local way of life is made possible. This way, the importance of analysing urban areas from the 15-minute city and 5-minute neighbourhood perspective is higher than ever. Only in this way we can understand what future development is necessary for our areas to ensure the quality of life.

However, good service provision is not the only thing that makes an area diverse. There are other factors that a 15-minute city and a 5-minute neighbourhood must contain to ensure liveability and avoid cultural displacement. At CHAOS, we also analyse locations from these perspectives, which we are looking forward to share with you in our upcoming blog posts. If you would like to see your neighbourhood featured in our analyses, drop us a line.

About CHAOS’ Service Mix

CHAOS’ Service Mix dashboard provides scores on areas’ Service Density and Service Diversity. This provides insight not only into the number of services, but on the richness of the different types of offerings in the area. 

About CHAOS’ Reachability

CHAOS’ Reachability refers to the area created within all points that can be reached by a user-defined mode of transport at a certain time, in every direction surrounding the point of origin, considering accessibility.

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