20 Minute Neighbourhood strategy

THIS YEAR, The City of Edinburgh Council committed to a 20-minute Neighbourhood strategy. This approach, used worldwide, is a way of delivering services within communities in a sustainable way. For Edinburgh it means that residents should be able to meet their daily needs within 20 minutes of their homes by walking, using public transport, wheeling, or cycling. While this is a new for Edinburgh, I’ve been thinking about it for a long time in terms of personal resilience. Eleven years ago, I was run over by a lorry driver when I was cycling to work. I spent two years on crutches. This had a dramatic effect on my ability to move around independently. While I didn’t own a car at the time, I couldn’t have driven anyway.

Luckily, I live in a compact neighbourhood, Portobello, that had then, and still has, nearly everything that I needed. I was only five minutes’ walk from the doctor, the pharmacy, and the dentist. I could access the local library easily and quickly. The supermarket, the post office, the fishmonger, and the greengrocer were all within easy reach. I could get to the bus stops without too much effort, essential for regular trips to the hospital. The taxi rank, also close by, was a great comfort if the buses were late. Living in a high-density friendly neighbourhood was also essential for my mental health. There was always a friend or neighbour dropping by to invite me for a coffee or offering to carry things that were too heavy or impossible on crutches.

There are many reasons to promote 20-minute Neighbourhoods, from reducing our impact on the environment through to tackling loneliness and ensuring everyone can easily access the public services they need. For me, it meant retaining independence through a difficult and traumatic time.

Kirsty Lewin, Spokes Porty