There is a difference that is immediately noticeable between an enjoyable city and an exhausting one: how much planning it takes to live in it. If seeing a friend requires coordinating everything days in advance, if running an errand takes two transit connections, if an evening out demands a minor logistical operation, the city may well be full of opportunities, but it ends up consuming an enormous share of our time and attention.
Urban quality does not depend solely on the number of museums, restaurants, or events. It also hinges on how easily someone can change plans. It is the ability to head out without having mapped out every step beforehand, run into someone, stop at a place discovered along the way, or take a detour because a street or square looks inviting.
Urban freedom is, above all, accessibility
This spontaneity has a very tangible foundation. It stems from the proximity of services, legible public transit, continuous pedestrian networks, and neighborhoods where housing, businesses, and collective spaces are not segregated into watertight compartments. UN-Habitat views public spaces as essential infrastructure for the social, economic, and environmental life of cities: they are not the void between buildings, but places that foster connection, accessibility, and civic life.
The same applies to the concept of the 15-minute city. Beyond the slogan, the compelling idea is not that everyone must live inside a perfect circle. It is that a significant share of daily needs can be met without turning every trip into a trek. A recent OCSE report on cities for all ages shows just how far this condition still is from being taken for granted: in functional urban areas across OCSE countries, only 36% of people can reach a primary school or childcare service on foot within fifteen minutes.
The neighborhood matters more than the destination
For years we have portrayed cities through destinations: the museum to visit, the restaurant to book, the monument to photograph. But the quality of everyday life is often decided in the space between one destination and the next. The sidewalk that allows you to walk without interruption. The cafe where you can stop without having planned to. The square where you can sit down without having to buy anything. The cinema within reach without taking the car. The local shop that saves a longer trip.
It is this intermediate fabric that transforms a city from a backdrop into an organism. And it is not a secondary issue on an increasingly urban continent: the Commissione europea notes that over 70% of the Union's citizens live in urban areas. The choices regarding how we distribute services, transport, and public space therefore affect the daily lives of the majority of Europeans.
The city should not function like a catalog
Digital platforms have made it incredibly convenient to book almost anything. Tables, taxis, admissions, appointments, gyms, and activities can be organized in seconds. It is clear progress. But when this logic becomes the only way to use the city, something is lost.
A platform works because it eliminates uncertainty: you choose, you book, you pay, you receive confirmation. A city works well even when it preserves a share of unpredictability. The chance encounter, the place discovered while walking, the plan that changes at the last minute are not inefficiencies to be eliminated. They are part of urban value.
Spontaneity is also a matter of equality
Not everyone can afford to plan life far in advance. Those who work shifts, have children, care for a family member, have irregular hours, or simply have fewer financial resources need a city where alternatives are close, understandable, and accessible. If every activity requires a car, a reservation, and plenty of free time, urban freedom becomes selective.
That is why proximity should not be confused with an urban planning fad. It comes down to a very simple question: how much of our day is consumed by the fact that the things we need are far away or difficult to reach?
The true measure of a city is how much space it leaves for life
Rankings measure air quality, housing costs, transport, safety, and green space. All crucial indicators. But if we wanted to add a more human metric, we might ask: how easy is it to do something we hadn't planned?
A city can offer an enormous amount and still be exhausting if every experience requires planning. Conversely, a city that distributes opportunities, services, and meeting places makes socializing easier as well. The best city is not necessarily the one with the most things to do. It is the one where leaving the house without knowing exactly what will happen does not mean facing a series of obstacles.
