Several social media users have claimed the City of Edmonton is adopting the 15-minute city concept in its district planning to restrict residents' movement and track their carbon footprint. This is false. Edmonton is developing new district plans to ensure residents have access to their daily needs within a 15-minute walk, transit trip or bike ride from their front door. The city doesn't have plans to restrict or monitor people's movement and it will not track their carbon emissions. In fact, Edmonton is planning to use the 15-minute city communities plan to introduce more transit options in the city.
Several Twitter users posted similar tweets this month claiming the 15-minute concept the City of Edmonton is using to design its new district plans will . They claim the government will surveil their movement in an effort to . Several Twitter posts linked the proposal to digital ID projects, claiming the goal is to surveil residents, and some users criticized the 15-minute concept in Edmonton by using .
Similar claims have been posted on and videos showing commentators criticizing the 15-minute city concept have received thousands of views on
Rating: False
project is a multi-year district planning project that is being developed by the City of Edmonton to ensure residents have access to many of their daily needs within 15 minutes from their homes.
In November 2022, Edmonton published summarizing the feedback it received from its residents about the project through public consultations. The participants in the process supported establishing 15-minute communities that include more diverse neighbourhoods and a mix of housing options, and ensure better access to parks and more local businesses.
Shauna Kuiper, a general supervisor in the City of Edmonton’s Planning and Environmental Services Department, said in an emailed statement on Feb. 15 that Edmonton is currently working on its district planning project to support access to daily needs within a 15-minute area.
Kuiper said the project doesn't include any measures to restrict or monitor residents' movement.
"District planning is not about restricting movement, monitoring people or tracking an individual’s carbon emissions," she said. "There will be nothing put in place to do so. In fact, district plans will support better access and movement throughout the city by enabling more transportation options within and between districts."
MyAlberta Digital ID
Dozens of people attended a in Edmonton against the 15-minute city project on Feb. 10. Some protesters carried signs linking the proposed district planning project to Alberta's digital ID program, falsely suggesting both programs will be used by the government to track and restrict their movement.
Alberta's digital ID program, called , is a verified account program residents of Alberta can use to access government services online, including driver’s licence renewals, medical records, tax returns and government affordability payment applications.
Christine King, an assistant communications director at Alberta Technology and Innovation, said in an emailed statement on Feb. 15 that the province's digital ID program doesn't track user's information or movement.
"The Verified Account was designed with security and privacy in mind. Information about users and their online activity is never stored or tracked," she said. "It does not collect carbon-footprint information and is not related to the City of Edmonton’s district planning."
Similar plans in other cities
The term 15-minute city was , an associate professor at Sorbonne University Business School in Paris. Moreno outlined the idea of the 15-minute city in a , saying the concept aims to give area residents access to essential services within their immediate vicinity.
The concept attracted attention in recent years after Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo a plan to adopt the 15-minute city idea in the French capital. Paris has developed a since then to implement the concept.
Several cities in the United Kingdom have similar plans, including and .
In Canada, has been exploring the idea of including the 15-minute city concept in its district planning .
Sources
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