Urbanist Carlos Moreno discusses the transition to polycentric, human centered cities to lower carbon footprints. The focus is on reducing long commutes and increasing local access to services to create sustainable urban environments. The discussion highlights Azerbaijan's strategy for moving from fossil fuels to green energy through short, medium, and long term planning horizons in architecture and city design.
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The 15 minute city sounds good on paper, but the real challenge is the existing building stock. You cannot just decree proximity. It takes massive investment in retrofitting old districts to make them mixed use.
Exactly. The policy gap is usually in zoning laws. Until you change the rules on what can be built where, these urbanist visions remain theoretical. Incentives for mixed use development are what actually move the needle.
Mentioning a transition from fossil fuels to green energy is fine, but I do not see any mention of the grid capacity needed to support an electrified, sustainable city. Where is the plan for the substations and storage?
Interesting look at how Baku is positioning itself. The link between urban density and CO2 reduction is clear, though the article is light on the actual metrics for success.
