Readers have responded to a recent MetroTalk letter that criticized the concept of 15-minute cities, calling the backlash 'scaremongering' and defending the urban planning model as a positive development.
What's Wrong with 15-Minute Cities?
N J Hall (MetroTalk, Wed) suggested that local tourism taxes could price the working classes out of holidays, forcing them to stay near home and bringing 'the notion of 15-minute cities closer than ever.' But Andrew from Hornchurch disagrees with the negative portrayal. 'The idea is you plan or design a city so everything you need for everyday life is within easy walking distance. I love it!' he writes. He dismisses fears that people would be 'locked' into small districts as 'a ridiculous fantasy invented by the far right and the US car industry.'
The Plan is Victim to 'Scaremongering'
Gavin from Knebworth echoes this sentiment, stating that the scaremongering about 15-minute cities is fully captured by Hall. 'Heaven forbid you can get everything you need within a quarter-of-an-hour walk! Because, oh yes, I’d much rather be sitting in my car, polluting the environment and wasting my time on congested roads,' he says. He argues that the idea of being trapped in a 15-minute city is 'for conspiracy theorists only.'
Other Topics in the Letters
Readers also weighed in on a story about British dad Ryan Pepper, who spent seven months locked up and tortured in a Dubai jail. Julian Burrows from Kent advises, 'My advice is don’t go there – to live, work or for a holiday. Just do not go there!'
On international politics, G Smith from Chester-le-Street criticizes Donald Trump for charging Cuba’s former president Raul Castro over a 1996 plane downing while ignoring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s alleged role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. 'These double standards are what we get from Trump and his cronies,' Smith writes, also noting that Sir Keir Starmer and Prince William have 'sucked up' to the Crown Prince.
Geoff Petty, via email, comments on former Prime Minister John Major’s dismay over Conservative climate policy, citing a National Security Assessment warning that climate change could lead to 'catastrophic failure' of Britain’s food security by 2030.
Finally, LMW from Hendon laments the loss of romanticism associated with the moon now that the US and China are planning bases there. 'Who would want to sit gazing at the moon, knowing who was looking down on us?'
