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RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE
CITIES
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RESILIENT AND
SUSTAINABLE
CITIES
RESEARCH, POLICY AND
PRACTICE

Edited by

ZAHEER ALLAM
DIDIER CHABAUD
CATHERINE GALL
FLORENT PRATLONG
CARLOS MORENO
Chaire Entrepreneuriat Territoire Innovation (ETI),
IAE Paris e Sorbonne Business School,
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France
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Contents

Contributors xi 3. Measuring the 15-Minute City in


Barcelona. A geospatial three-method
comparison
Section I Guillem Vich, Irene Gómez-Varo and Oriol Marquet

The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustain- 1. Introduction 40


ability, resilience, and inclusivity 2. Materials and methods 42
3. Results 47
1. Coworking and the 15-Minute City 4. Discussion 51
Guillaume Chanson and Evelyn Sakka 5. Conclusions 55
6. Appendix 56
1. Working in the 15-Minute City: the commuting Acknowledgements 57
time issue 4 References 57
2. Coworking: the development of a new way of
working 6 4. The Paris urban plan review : an
3. The new urban functions of coworking: third
opportunity to put the 15-Minute City
place and amenity 7
4. The location of coworking spaces: a spatial concept into the perspective of the
network 8 Parisians desire for nature
5. Conclusion 12 Amélie Dakouré, Lise Bourdeau-Lepage and Jean-Yves Georges
References 13
1. Introduction 62
2. The theoretical grid. An antifragile 2. Materials and method 64
strategy for Rome post-COVID mobility 3. Conclusion 73
References 74
Mario Cerasoli, Chiara Amato and Chiara Ravagnan
Further reading 75
1. Introduction. Context, methodology, and goals of
the research 16 5. Exploring the relationship of time
2. Urban form and mobility models. An integrated keeping and urban morphology within the
approach in the post-COVID era 18 economic renaissance and the
3. Mobility post-COVID emergency planning in postmodern era
great European cities. Experiences and
Zaheer Allam, Didier Chabaud, Catherine Gall, Florent Pratlong
strategies 22 and Carlos Moreno
4. The theoretical grid. Guidelines and
experimentation 26 1. Introduction 77
5. Conclusions. Perspectives of the proposed 2. Time keeping and economic growth 79
strategy 34 3. Modernism, the industrial revolution and the
6. Author’s contributions 35 car 81
References 36 4. The challenge of car dependent cities 83

v
vi CONTENTS

5. The contemporary urban state, criticisms, and 2. The 15-minute city and notable
future directions 85 benefits 123
References 87 3. Traditional financing of urban infrastructure and
the challenge for developing economies 125
6. Enter the 15-minute city: revisiting the 4. Modern monetary theory and its inaplicability to
smart city concept under a proximity based developing nations 126
5. Fiscally accelerating infrastructural
planning lens
development 128
Zaheer Allam, Didier Chabaud, Catherine Gall, Florent Pratlong References 129
and Carlos Moreno

1. Introduction 93 9. Redefining investable infrastructure in


2. On the smart city and its impact on the societal developing nations in a postpandemic era:
fabric 95 the case of the 15-Minute City
3. Proximity-based urban Philosophies and its Zaheer Allam, Didier Chabaud, Catherine Gall, Florent Pratlong
regenerative potential 96 and Carlos Moreno
4. Chrono-urbanism under a technological
blanket 98 1. Introduction 136
5. The 15-minute city; aka the smart city 2. Urban economic policy in the post pandemic
2.0 100 era 137
References 101 3. Infrastructure investment structuring in
developing nations 139
7. On proximity-based dimensions and 4. The need to refedine “investable
urban planning: historical precepts to the infrastructure” 140
5. Toward a model for quantifying indirect
15-minute city
economic benefits for investable
Zaheer Allam, Didier Chabaud, Catherine Gall, Florent Pratlong infrastructure 142
and Carlos Moreno
References 143
1. Introduction 107 Further reading 146
2. On proximity based planning 109
3. Leon Krier’s city within a city 112
4. On the evolution of cities and the application of
technology 113
Section II
5. The 15-minute city as an evolutive process: Cities, technology, and sustainability
discussions and conclusion 114
References 116 10. Smarter cities, smarter planning: an
Further reading 119 exploration into the role of planners within
the smart city movement
8. Financing the 15-minute city concept Aisling Friel, Ruth Potts and Sina Shahab
and its infrastructural ecosystem in
developing nations through fiscal 1. Introduction 150
mechanisms 2. Literature review 151
3. Methodology 155
Zaheer Allam, Didier Chabaud, Catherine Gall, Florent Pratlong
4. Results and discussion 156
and Carlos Moreno
5. Conclusions 165
1. Introduction 121 References 166
CONTENTS vii
11. A smart territory, the key to resilient 14. Developing a composite indicator for
territory evaluating urban sustainability
Thierry Antoine-Santoni, Oumaya Baala, Manuele Kirsch-Pinheiro, Parsa Arbab
Fabien Mieyeville, Bertrand Mocquet and Luiz Angelo Steffenel
1. Introduction 245
1. Introduction 172 2. Approach and methodology 246
2. Smartization of territories 173 3. Results 248
3. Resilience concept 178 4. Conclusion 260
4. Smart territory towards resilient References 261
territory 183
5. Conclusion 188 15. Scrutinizing sustainable mobility
References 189
strategies in integrated urban development:
12. Re-assessing urban sustainability in the perspectives from Copenhagen and
digital age: a new SWOT methodology for Curitiba
Maria Natalia Paulino Araujo Alcantara
cities
Pavnesh Kumar and Devina Lobine 1. Introduction 264
2. Literature review 266
1. Introduction 194 3. Research design and methods 272
2. Cities and parameters 195 4. Data analysis and results 284
3. SWOT analysis 203 5. Discussions 287
4. SWOT methodology for cities 219 6. Conclusion 288
5. Adaptation and application 221 References 289
6. Conclusion 222
References 222
Further reading 224
Section III
13. Charrette! An urgent response toward
Culture, liveability, and identity
resilient and sustainable cities and
landscapes 16. For a close and livable public space:
Simon Kilbane and Phillip B. Roös four proposals in Barcelona
Miguel Y. Cárdenas Mayorga and Maria Pia Gravante Fontana
1. Crisis and the charrette 228
2. Aims 230 1. Introduction 296
3. Method 230 2. Four proposals in Barcelona 297
4. Findings/results 231 3. Conclusions 303
5. Discussion 232 Bibliography 304
6. Can charrettes deliver on their promise of
desinging for sustainable and resilient cities and 17. Will future smart cities be liveable?
landscapes? 238
Alain Bouvier and Laurent Rieutort
7. Limitations and further research
directions 240
1. Introduction 305
8. Conclusion 240
2. Quality of life issues in smart cities 306
Acknowledgments 240
3. A disappointing record in terms of the good
References 241
life 310
viii CONTENTS

4. Learning cities and smart cities: towards an hybrid 21. The next level up is down: exploring
model? 315 the subsurface for our common future
5. Conclusion 319
Mahak Agrawal, Antonia Cornaro and Han Admiraal
References 320
1. Introduction 398
18. Third places as catalysts of resilience 2. Historical approaches to using underground
Stela Raytcheva, Gilles Rouet and Thierry Côme spaces 399
3. Value of underground spaces 401
1. Introduction 323 4. Investing in underground spaces 402
2. Third places: evolution, characteristics, and 5. Key challenges and barriers 410
overview 324 6. Conclusion 413
3. Third places, hybridities, and resilience References 414
capacities 333
4. Conclusion 340 22. A collective of resilient organizations
References 341
together to build a resilient city: issues and
19. Health impact assessment: an perspectives
innovative approach for 15-minute cities Delphine François-Philip de Saint Julien and Aline Courie-Lemeur

Meelan Thondoo, A. Ramos, N. Mueller, S. Khomenko and Mark 1. Introduction 417


J. Nieuwenhuijsen
2. Collectively resilient organizations: issues of
absorption, renewal, and appropriation in the face
1. Introduction 344
of multiple challenges. 419
2. The 15-minute city model and health 345
3. Becoming collectively learning organizations:
3. Health impact assessment 346
multiple challenges 421
4. How can HIAs help make the 15-minute city
4. Conclusion 422
vision become a reality? 348
References 423
5. The challenges ahead 349
6. HIAs and practical way forward for 15-minute
cities 350 23. City wild: how making space for nature
7. Conclusion 351 might help achieve the sustainable and
References 351 resilient city
Simon Kilbane and Phillip B. Roös

1. Crisis 428
Section IV 2. Time to go wild? 433
Climate change and resilient cities 3. The future city 436
4. Conclusion 437
20. The influence of climate change on Acknowledgments 437
the design strategies of the built References 437
environment: the heterogeneous climate of
Italy analyzed in future scenarios 24. Predictive modeling for reforestation of
cities to mitigate climate change impacts
Krizia Berti, David Bienvenido-Huertas and Carlos Rubio-Bellido
Ali Jalali, Phillip B. Roös, Murray Herron, Paras Sidiqui and
1. Introduction 358 Emma Duncan

2. Materials and method 359


1. Introduction 441
3. Conclusion 395
2. Materials and method 443
References 396
3. Results 446
CONTENTS ix
4. Discussion 446 28. Re-envisaging cities: biophilic and First
Acknowledgments 452 Nations strategies from Australia
References 453
David S. Jones and Phillip B. Roös

25. Neighborhood’s scale resilience facing 1. Introduction 520


heatwave events. Metropolitan area of 2. Cities and noncities 520
3. Wadawurrung country re-envisaging
MendozadArgentina as an study case cities 522
María Belén Sosa, María Alicia Cantón and Erica Correa 4. Values of deep connections to
naturedBiophilia 526
1. Introduction 458 5. Biophilic cities in the Australian
2. Materials and method 460 context 527
3. Results 465 6. Re-envisaging Geelong as a Biophilic
4. Conclusion 469 City 528
References 470 7. Conclusions 534
Acknowledgments 534
26. A GIS-based tool for planning resilient References 534
climate cities Further reading 535
Carmela Gargiulo, Rosaria Battarra, Carmen Guida and
Maria Rosa Tremiterra
29. Building urban resilience through
infrastructure exaptation
1. Introduction 474 Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez
2. Literature review 474
3. Methodology 476 1. Introduction 537
4. Case study: implementation of a GIS-based tool 2. Understanding urban resilience 539
for the eastern neighborhood of Naples 483 3. Exaptation 540
5. Results and discussion 486 4. National health services enhancement strategy in
6. Conclusions 491 Mexico 542
References 492 5. Discussion and conclusion: exaptation of the city
a means to counter pandemics 544
References 546
27. Citizens and local administration in
climate change mitigation. Urban strategies
and local actions applicable to
neighborhoods Section V
Maria-Jose Marquez-Ballesteros, Daniel Navas-Carrillo, Llanos Mora- Urban management and sustainable
López, Mariano Sidrach-de-Cardona, Elena Enciso-Martínez and
Pablo Rico-Pinazo resource optimization
1. Introduction 496 30. Management of city vulnerability to
2. The environment and sustainability legal bushfire risk using advanced GIS-based
framework in the European context 500 spatial tools
3. Case study. People-centric projects 504 Murray Herron, Ali Jalali, Phillip B. Roös, Paras Sidiqui and
4. Results 508 Emma Duncan
5. Conclusion 515
Acknowledgments 515 1. Introduction 553
References 515 2. Materials and method 554
3. Results 562
x CONTENTS

4. Conclusion 564 3. Tools of overall performance 609


Acknowledgments 566 4. The methodology 612
References 566 5. Results and discussion 613
6. Conclusion 618
31. Adaptive reuse of abandoned urban Appendix 619
assets for cultural and social innovative Bibliography 621
Further readings 623
development
Marialuce Stanganelli, Carlo Gerundo, Gianluca Coppola and
Giovanni Laino
33. Sustainable development in
hydro-drought regions by improving
1. Introduction 570 hydro-indicators
2. State-of-the-art 575 Abdol Aziz Shahraki
3. Methodology 580
4. Case study: application to the Municipality of 1. Introduction 626
Naples 581 2. Literature review 627
5. Conclusive remarks 600 3. Case studies 630
References 602 4. Modeling hydro-drought trend in
Mirjaveh 637
32. Sustainability in public administration: 5. Findings and discussions 642
governance and accountability in French 6. Conclusions 645
metropolitan area Acknowledgments 645
References 646
Aurélia Heurteux

1. Introduction 606 Index 649


2. The concept of sustainable development, or the
quest for the legitimacy of metropolises 607
Contributors

Han Admiraal ITACUS, Enprodes and Man- (LAREQUOI), Université de Versailles Saint-
agement Consultance BV, Delft, The Quentin-en-Yvelines, Guyancourt, France
Netherlands María Alicia Cantón Instituto de Ambiente,
Mahak Agrawal International Tunneling Asso- Hábitat y Energía (INAHE-CONICET), Men-
ciation’s Committee on Underground Spaces doza, Argentina
(ITACUS) and Consultant (Climate Change Miguel Y. Cárdenas Mayorga Department of
and Disaster Risk Management), World Bank, Urbanism and Regional Planning UOT/Barce-
New York, NY, United States lona School of Architecture ETSAB/Poly-
Maria Natalia Paulino Araujo Alcantara technic University of Catalonia UPC,
Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy Barcelona, Spain
Zaheer Allam Chaire Entrepreneuriat Territoire Mario Cerasoli Department of Architecture,
Innovation (ETI), IAE Paris e Sorbonne Busi- Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
ness School, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sor- Didier Chabaud Chaire Entrepreneuriat Terri-
bonne, Paris, France toire Innovation (ETI), IAE Paris e Sorbonne
Chiara Amato Department of Architecture, Business School, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-
Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy Sorbonne, Paris, France
Thierry Antoine-Santoni Università di Corsica, Guillaume Chanson PRISM Sorbonne, Uni-
UMR CNRS LISA 6240, Corte, France versité Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris,
Parsa Arbab School of Urban Planning, Uni- France
versity of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Thierry Côme Université Paris-Saclay, LAR-
Oumaya Baala Department of Computer Sci- EQUOI, Guyancourt, France
ence (DISC), Université de Technologie de Gianluca Coppola University of Naples Feder-
Belfort Montbéliard, FEMTO-ST UMR CNRS, ico II, Department of Civil, Building and
Belfort, France Environmental Engineering, Naples, Italy
Rosaria Battarra National Research Council, Antonia Cornaro ITACUS and Expert at
Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean Amberg Engineering, Zurich, Switzerland
(ISMed), Naples, Italy Erica Correa Instituto de Ambiente, Hábitat y
Krizia Berti University of Seville, Department of Energía (INAHE-CONICET), Mendoza,
Building Construction II, Seville, Spain Argentina
David Bienvenido-Huertas University of Gran- Aline Courie-Lemeur Université Versailles
ada, Department of Building Construction, Saint Quentin en Yvelines, ISM-IAE, Larequoi,
Granada, Spain France
Lise Bourdeau-Lepage Université Jean-Moulin, Amélie Dakouré Université Jean-Moulin,
CNRS, EVS UMR 5600, Lyon, France CNRS, EVS UMR 5600, Lyon, France; Uni-
Alain Bouvier University of Sherbrooke, Labo- versité de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178,
ratoire de Recherche en Management Strasbourg, France

xi
xii CONTRIBUTORS

Emma Duncan Live+Smart Research Labo- David S. Jones Monash Indigenous Studies
ratory, Biophilia Lab, School of Architecture Centre, Monash University, Clayton, VIC,
and Built Environment, Deakin University, Australia; Wadawurrung Traditional Owners
Geelong, VIC, Australia Aboriginal Corporation, Geelong, VIC,
Elena Enciso-Martínez Departamento de Arte y Australia
Arquitectura, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, S. Khomenko Barcelona Institute for Global
Spain Health (ISGlobal), Centre for Research in
Delphine François-Philip de Saint Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) Barce-
Julien Université Versailles Saint Quentin en lona, Spain
Yvelines, ISM-IAE, Larequoi, France Simon Kilbane Biophilia Lab, School of Archi-
Aisling Friel Cardiff University, School of Geog- tecture & Built Environment, Faculty of Sci-
raphy and Planning, Cardiff, United Kingdom ence, Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin
University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
Catherine Gall Chaire Entrepreneuriat Terri-
toire Innovation (ETI), IAE Paris e Sorbonne Manuele Kirsch-Pinheiro Université Paris 1
Business School, Université Paris 1 Panthéon- Panthéon-Sorbonne, Centre de Recherche en
Sorbonne, Paris, France Informatique, Paris, France
Carmela Gargiulo University of Naples Feder- Pavnesh Kumar New Delhi, India
ico II, Department of Civil, Building and Envi- Giovanni Laino University of Naples Federico
ronmental Engineering (DICEA), Naples, Italy II, Department of Architecture, Naples, Italy
Jean-Yves Georges Université de Strasbourg, Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez School of Archi-
CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Strasbourg, France tecture University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Carlo Gerundo University of Naples Federico Devina Lobine Faculty of Life sciences, The JSS
II, Department of Civil, Building and Environ- Academy of Higher Education & Research,
mental Engineering, Naples, Italy Bonne Terre, Mauritius
Irene Gómez-Varo Department of Geography, Oriol Marquet Institute of Environmental Sci-
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerda- ence and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Universitat
nyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del
Maria Pia Gravante Fontana Department of Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
Architectural Design/Barcelona School of Maria-Jose Marquez-Ballesteros Departamento
Architecture ETSAB/Polytechnic University de Arte y Arquitectura, Universidad de
of Catalonia UPC, Barcelona, Spain Málaga, Málaga, Spain
Carmen Guida University of Naples Federico II, Fabien Mieyeville Polytech Lyon - Université
Department of Civil, Building and Environ- Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire Ampère -
mental Engineering (DICEA), Naples, Italy UMR CNRS 5005, Villeurbanne, France
Murray Herron LiveþSmart Research Labo- Bertrand Mocquet Université Bordeaux-Mon-
ratory, Biophilia Lab, School of Architecture taigne, Laboratoire MICA, Bordeaux, France
and Built Environment, Deakin University, Llanos Mora-López Departamento de Len-
Geelong, VIC, Australia guajes y Ciencias de La Computación, Uni-
Aurélia Heurteux Université de Reims-Cham- versidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
pagne-Ardenne, Regards, EA, France Carlos Moreno Chaire Entrepreneuriat Terri-
Ali Jalali LiveþSmart Research Laboratory, toire Innovation (ETI), IAE Paris e Sorbonne
Biophilia Lab, School of Architecture and Built Business School, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-
Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, Sorbonne, Paris, France
VIC, Australia
CONTRIBUTORS xiii
N. Mueller Barcelona Institute for Global Science, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC,
Health (ISGlobal), Centre for Research in Australia
Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) Barce- Gilles Rouet Université Paris-Saclay, LAR-
lona, Spain EQUOI, Guyancourt, France
Daniel Navas-Carrillo Departamento de Arte y Carlos Rubio-Bellido University of Seville,
Arquitectura, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Department of Building Construction II, Sev-
Spain ille, Spain
Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen Barcelona Institute for Evelyn Sakka PhD Finance, Université Paris 1
Global Health (ISGlobal), Centre for Research Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France
in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) Bar-
Sina Shahab Cardiff University, School of
celona, Spain; Department of Biomedicine,
Geography and Planning, Cardiff, United
University Pompeu Fabra (UPF) Barcelona,
Kingdom
Spain; Department of Environmental Epidemi-
ology, Municipal Institute of Medical Research Abdol Aziz Shahraki kungliga tekniska hög-
(IMIM-Hospital del Mar) Barcelona, Spain; skolan, KTH. Skolan för arkitektur och
Department of Epidemiology and Public samhällsbyggnad, Avdelningen för samhälls-
Health, CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública planering och miljö, Stockholm, Sweden
(CIBERESP) Madrid, Spain Paras Sidiqui LiveþSmart Research Laboratory,
Ruth Potts Cardiff University, School of Geog- Biophilia Lab, School of Architecture and Built
raphy and Planning, Cardiff, United Kingdom Environment, Deakin University, Geelong,
VIC, Australia
Florent Pratlong Chaire Entrepreneuriat Terri-
toire Innovation (ETI), IAE Paris e Sorbonne Mariano Sidrach-de-Cardona Departamento de
Business School, Université Paris 1 Panthéon- Física Aplicada II, Universidad de Málaga,
Sorbonne, Paris, France Málaga, Spain
A. Ramos Barcelona Institute for Global Health María Belén Sosa Instituto de Ambiente, Háb-
(ISGlobal), Centre for Research in Environ- itat y Energía (INAHE-CONICET), Mendoza,
mental Epidemiology (CREAL) Barcelona, Argentina
Spain Marialuce Stanganelli University of Naples
Chiara Ravagnan Department of Planning, Federico II, Department of Architecture,
Design and Technology of Architecture, Sapi- Naples, Italy
enza University of Rome, Rome, Italy Luiz Angelo Steffenel Université de Reims
Stela Raytcheva Université Paris-Saclay, LAR- Champagne-Ardenne, LICIIS, Reims, France
EQUOI, Guyancourt, France Meelan Thondoo Barcelona Institute for Global
Pablo Rico-Pinazo Departamento de Arte y Health (ISGlobal), Centre for Research in
Arquitectura, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) Barce-
Spain lona, Spain; MRC Epidemiology Unit, Uni-
versity of Cambridge, Cambridge, United
Laurent Rieutort UMR Territoires, Université
Kingdom
Clermont Auvergne, AgroParisTech, INRAE,
VetAgro Sup, Clermont-Ferrand, France Maria Rosa Tremiterra Brescia Municipality,
Urban Transformation Department, Brescia,
Phillip B. Roös Biophilia Lab, School of Archi-
Italy
tecture and Built Environment, Deakin Uni-
versity, Geelong, VIC, Australia; LiveþSmart Guillem Vich ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for
Research Laboratory, Biophilia Lab, School of Global Health), Barcelona, Spain
Architecture & Built Environment, Faculty of
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S E C T I O N I

The ‘15-minute city’ concept:


sustainability, resilience, and
inclusivity
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C H A P T E R

1
Coworking and the 15-Minute City
Guillaume Chanson1 and Evelyn Sakka2
1
PRISM Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France; 2PhD Finance,
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

O U T L I N E

1. Working in the 15-Minute City: the 3. The new urban functions of


commuting time issue 4 coworking: third place and amenity 7
1.1 Theoretical perspectives 4 3.1 Coworking as a third place 7
1.2 Empirical data: the commuting time 3.2 Coworking as an amenity 8
in Paris 5
4. The location of coworking spaces: a
2. Coworking: the development of a spatial network 8
new way of working 6 4.1 Theoretical perspectives 9
2.1 Theoretical perspectives 6 4.2 Empirical data 9
2.2 Empirical data: the development of
5. Conclusion 12
coworking spaces in Paris 7
References 13

Almost a century after the Athens Charter (1933), there is an evident need of a new vision
of the city for the 21st century. In 2003, the New Charter of Athens (European council of
Town Planners, 2003) proposed a renewed approach of a connected city, based on polycentric
networks of cities relying on communication technologies. In 2016, the French-Colombian sci-
entist Carlos Moreno developed another urban planning the 15-Minute City according to
which citizens can access their daily necessities on foot or by bike within 15 min.
In this chapter, we focus on the commuting time (between home and work) that consti-
tutes the biggest issue, when it comes to the time citizens spend on their social tasks. It con-
stitutes one of the main challenges for the town planning. Reducing the use of cars in the city
cannot be sufficient to reach the 15 min goal, which would be very difficult to achieve, even
by improving public transportation. Then, this chapter addresses an original lever to reduce

Resilient and Sustainable Cities


https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91718-6.00003-7 3 © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
4 1. Coworking and the 15-Minute City

drastically the commuting time: the coworking spaces. How the network of coworking spaces
could contribute to the success of the 15-Minute City?
To answer this question, this chapter will present through theoretical and empirical lenses
the commuting time issue (first part), the development of coworking (second part), the new
urban functions of coworking (third part), and the spatial network of coworking (fourth part).

1. Working in the 15-Minute City: the commuting time issue

1.1 Theoretical perspectives


In 1933, Le Corbusier (1941) published the Athens Charter (with other architects and urban
planners). Through this modernist manifesto, they were proposing a new vision of the city of
the future, which had a major influence on urban planning. Considering four functions of the
city (dwelling, recreation, work, and transportation), they propose to separate industrial sec-
tors and residential sectors. The separation of functions has quickly emerged as responsible of
the dormitory towns (Albers & Papageorgiou-Venetas, 1985). A century later, the sustainable
development requires a new vision for Cities in the 21st century.
A 15-Minute City is a concept for a city in which citizens can access their daily necessities
by foot or by bike within 15 min. The concept was developed by French-Colombian scientist
Carlos Moreno to help tackle car hegemony and create more sustainable human-centric urban
environments. Based on six social functions (living, working, commerce, healthcare, educa-
tion, and entertainment), this approach proposed a mixed-use development of neighbor-
hoods, opposite to the separated functions of the Charter of Athens. Working close to
home constitute a daily necessity. Thus, commuting time is a crucial factor in choosing hous-
ing location.
The commuting habits depend on several microeconomic factors such as gender, age, level
of education, personal income, presence and number of children, home ownership, or car
availability/ownership. On the one hand, some of those factors have a positive relationship
with commuting time such as personal income (Dargay & Clark, 2012; Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau
& Van Ommeren, 2012; Östh & Lindgren, 2012; Sandow & Westin, 2010), education (Östh &
Lindgren, 2012; Sandow, 2008; Susilo & Maat, 2007), home ownership (Deding et al., 2008;
Groot et al., 2012), and car ownership (Dargay & Clark, 2012; Schwanen et al., 2004). On
the other hand, there are other factors that have a negative relationship with commuting
such as age (Dargay & Clark, 2012; Östh & Lindgren, 2012; Susilo & Maat, 2007) and children
(Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau & Van Ommeren, 2012; Sandow, 2008). In addition, women generally
have shorter commutes than men (Dargay & Clark, 2012; Groot et al., 2012; Gutiérrez-i-Pui-
garnau & Van Ommeren, 2012). However, this gender difference in commuting decreases
when income and occupation are taken into consideration, but it does not disappear (Hanson
and Johnston, 1985; Sandow & Westin, 2010).
Moreover, commuting habits are affected by land use and geographical variables. There
are several studies that demonstrate a negative relationship between commuting and popu-
lation/residential density (Dargay & Clark, 2012; Sandow, 2008; Schwanen et al., 2004;
Susilo & Maat, 2007) and job density (Johansson et al., 2002; Rouwendal & Nijkamp, 2004).
However, there are factors that can positively affect the commuting behavior of individuals

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


1. Working in the 15-Minute City: the commuting time issue 5
such as the urban/rural residence (Schwanen et al., 2004; Susilo & Maat, 2007; Östh & Lindg-
ren, 2012), residential region (Pucher and Renne; 2003; Sandow & Westin, 2010), housing
price (Rouwendal & Nijkamp, 2004), and intensity of land use (van Acker & Witlox, 2011).
Despite commuting time playing an important role in households’ residential location de-
cisions, most people are willing to accept longer commute times to live closer to amenities
(Ng, 2008). For example, Merriman and Hellerstein (1994) observe that factors other than
accessibility, such as school quality and population density, have an impact on the choice
of residential and job location. Rouwendal and Meijer (2001) show that Dutch workers are
willing to accept longer commutes in order to achieve specific housing types and neighbor-
hood settings (e.g., small-town or country).

1.2 Empirical data: the commuting time in Paris


The commuting time for the majority of European workers is less than 30 min (Eurostat,
2019). Before the start of the COVID crisis, more than half of employed persons in the EU-
27 traveled less than 30 min from home to work, that is, commuted one-way and without
any detours (61.3% in 2019). Their average commuting time was 25 min. Finally, only 4.3%
of employed persons did not need to travel at all to get to their main place of work. Neverthe-
less, the situation is quite different in metropolises (Fig. 1.1). Due to longer commuting dis-
tances (the area is wider) and the traffic congestion, the commuting time is much higher in
large cities.

FIGURE 1.1 Average daily commuting time for different European metropolises. The figure represents the
average daily commuting time for different European metropolises. From Eurofound. (2016). What makes capital cities
the best places to live? European Quality of Life Survey. Source: Eurofound. (2020) ‘What makes capital cities the best places to
live?’, European Quality of Life Survey 2016 series. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


6 1. Coworking and the 15-Minute City

With approximatively 70 min each day, Paris occupies the second place among the Euro-
pean Union capitals behind Budapest (Eurofound, 2020) in terms of high commuting time,
despite having one of the most developed transport networks in Europe. This network cannot
be the solution to the 15-Minute City challenge. As a matter of fact, the average amount of
time people in Paris spend commuting with public transit, on a weekday is 50 min (Moovit
Public Transit Index, 2021). The average amount of time people in Paris wait at a stop or sta-
tion for their Light Rail, Metro, Train, Bus and RER line on a weekday is 11 min (Moovit Pub-
lic Transit Index, 2021). Then, if one considers the time to reach the station, the waiting time at
the station, the travel time (sometimes including interconnexions), and the time to reach the
workplace, this model cannot support the principles of the 15-Minute City.
The percentage of people in Paris who wait for over 20 min on average for their transit line
every day, for example to and from work is 32%. The average distance people in Paris usually
ride in a single trip, for example to or from work, with public transit including Light Rail,
Metro, Train, Bus and RER is 9.9 km. The percentage of people in Paris that usually travel
for over 12 km in a single direction, for example to or from work, each day with public transit
is 55%. The average distance people in Paris walk every day in one direction, for example on
their way home or to work is 9.9 km. The percentage of people in Paris who walk for over
1 km each day to reach a specific destination, for example to or from work is 55%.
As we saw in the first part of this chapter, following the 15-Minute City concept,
commuting time plays an important role in households’ decision. For most Europeans, there
is no issue of commuting time in their daily life. Nevertheless, Paris, like many other metro-
polises, is affected by this issue, despite a highly developed transportation system. Cowork-
ing constitutes a way to address this challenge.

2. Coworking: the development of a new way of working

2.1 Theoretical perspectives


There are several definitions for coworking. According to DeGuzman and Tang (2011),
coworking refers to the set-up and dynamics of a diverse group of people who do not neces-
sarily work for the same company or on the same project, working alongside each other,
sharing the working space and resources, such as Internet connection, office equipment,
and coffee. Spinuzzi (2012) considers coworking space as “a place to get work doned
specifically, knowledge or service work that originates outside the site in other intersecting
activities. Although coworkers work together, that work involves different, contradictory ob-
jectives, attached to and pulled by the network of activities in which each coworker engages.
These intersecting activities perturbed the development of the object at each coworking site.”
Gandini (2015) describes coworking spaces as shared workplaces utilized by different sorts of
knowledge professionals, mostly freelancers, working in various degrees of specialization in
the vast domain of the knowledge industry. According to Waters-Lynch et al. (2017), a cow-
orking space is a “shared physical workspace and (often) intentional cooperation between in-
dependent workers.” Summarizing, the common of those definitions for coworking is that
they refer to “individuals who work together” with other people of differing attributes and
“places” that are shared by the working people.

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


3. The new urban functions of coworking: third place and amenity 7
Coworking space proximity is an appeal of the 15-Minute City concept, especially nowa-
days given the worldwide rethinking of how we move and work in the city due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Coworking spaces not only provide flexible office space and infrastruc-
ture, such as information technology and furniture, but also facilitate access to a wealth of
know-how and networking opportunities (Jakonen et al., 2017). In particular, they benefit
firms seeking an environment that fosters social support, innovation, creativity, knowledge
sharing, and collaboration (Bouncken et al., 2020; Fuzi, 2015). Finally, the concept of cowork-
ing space helps people discipline themselves and maintain work-related routines (Cook, 2020;
Reichenberger, 2018).

2.2 Empirical data: the development of coworking spaces in Paris


In Paris, the first space opened in 2008. In 2011, there were only 40 coworking spaces in
France, while in 2017, there were 600. In 2019, the number has tripled, and there were
1700 coworking spaces. Coworking is a growing part of office real estate: in 2019, coworking
monopolized nearly half of the deals on areas of more than 5000 m2. The 35% of coworking
spaces of France are located in Paris and Île-de-France. In 2019, the average price for a closed
office workstation is 470 euros in Paris, with a very wide price range, from 350 euros in small
spaces, to 1000 euros in the most premium spaces.
Moreover, the profiles of coworkers are evolving over the years. Initiated by startups and
freelancers, coworking is now attracting mid-size companies and even a few large groups.
These companies see it as an opportunity to benefit from the synergies and dynamism of
these work environments. Many entrepreneurs are turning away from traditional offices
(lease 3, 6, 9) to move toward the flexibility that coworking offers. Contracts typically have
a minimum term of one to 3 months, although some companies offer longer terms and others
offer shorter terms, including “pay as you go” services. In general, short-term leases are
thought to reduce the investment risk associated with the fixed costs of traditional leasing ar-
rangements (Foster, 1989; Harrison, 2002). In addition, these services can provide access to
strategic, attractive, low-cost, or prestigious locations that would be too expensive for indi-
vidual users to lease privately. The opportunity to reduce these costs arises from the eco-
nomic fact that the space and amenities are shared by multiple users, what is referred to in
economic theory as the “club good” (Buchanan, 1965; Cornes & Sandler, 1996).

3. The new urban functions of coworking: third place and amenity


Coworking, conceived originally as a solution for independent workers, has experienced a
rapid development. This development has urban impacts that will be analyzed in the next
parts of this chapter.

3.1 Coworking as a third place


The third space concept has been proposed by Ray Oldenburg. Oldenburg and Brissett
(1982, p.269) defined it as “places where people gather primarily to enjoy each other’s com-
pany”. Etymologically, third place derives from the French concepts of the third world and
the third state. The third state was used during the French Revolution to designate every

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


8 1. Coworking and the 15-Minute City

person who did not belong to the first state (clergy) or the second state (nobility). In the same
way, Oldenburg considered third places as urban spaces not devoted to the home (“first
place”) or the workplace (“second place”). In this original meaning, cafes, parks, or churches
constitute emblematic third places, as anchors of community life “where unrelated people
relate” (Oldenburg, 1989).
The start of coworking phenomenon began in 2005 in the United States, and it is credited
to Brad Neuberg, who organized a coworking 2 days a week in the Spiral Muse (a collective
feminist space) in San Francisco (Botsman & Rogers, 2011). The San Francisco Coworking
Space and the other pioneering coworking spaces (The Hat Factory and Citizen Space)
were conceived as a place where independent workers could work with other persons and
avoid social isolation. In this way, coworking initially corresponds to the third space concept
“where unrelated people relate”. Even if its development through private companies differs
from the idea of a public setting accessible to its inhabitants and appropriated by them as
their own” Oldenburg and Brissett (1982, p.269).

3.2 Coworking as an amenity


Considering its social impact (create relations between people and reduce commuting
time), it might be interesting to consider coworking spaces as neighborhood amenities.
Here, we follow the definition of amenities proposed by Goe and Green (2005, p.95) as “qual-
ities of a locality that make it an attractive place to live and work”. Previous research studies
have considered various instances of amenities: for example, schools (Sah et al., 2016), rail-
transit system (Billings, 2015), or bars, clubs, and restaurants (Moeller, 2018). These amenities
constitute determinants of the attractivity of a neighborhood for residential location and work
location.
In this way, coworking spaces appear as amenities, since they increase the attractiveness of
the places to live and work. As far as work is considered, they foster social interaction and
knowledge spillovers (compared to telecommuting). Regarding residential location, they
represent a way to eliminate commuter travel (compared to conventional offices), since it
is far easier for a resident to have a coworking space within walking distance than an office
of his/her employer.
As seen in this part of the chapter, coworking spaces constitute third places and amenities,
due to their social role. They play an important role in the possibility of a 15-Minute City.
These two statements encourage us to analyze the location of coworking spaces.

4. The location of coworking spaces: a spatial network

To our knowledge, there are no empirical studies that have analyzed the location of cow-
orking spaces in a city to understand the spatial network they represent. In the absence of a
public policy, their position results from the location decision made by the coworking com-
panies. There may be two competing goals for these companies in their location decisions:
avoid competitors and benefit from localization externalities.

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


4. The location of coworking spaces: a spatial network 9

4.1 Theoretical perspectives


Since the pioneering work of Hotelling, geographical economists have investigated the de-
terminants of firms’ location strategy according to the customers’ location. Depending on
various factors, such as complete information or transportation and consumer storage costs
(Ingene and Ghosh, 1990), a firm may choose a location close to or far from other competitors.
In the case of transportation costs, an isolated location provides captive demand and the abil-
ity to fix higher prices than competitors as long as the price difference remains lower than the
cost for a customer to switch providers. In the 15-Minute City approach, one can consider that
the users opt for coworking spaces very close to their home. Following the transportation
costs argument, one should expect the coworking spaces to open spaces in every neighbor-
hood so as to benefit from the captive demand.
However, since the original work of Alfred Marshall at the end of the 19th century, econ-
omists have also considered externalities due to localization (Brounen & Jennen, 2009). When
a firm is established in a dense neighborhood of economic activities, it may benefit from a
pooled market for specialized workers (limiting the risk of labor shortage) (Krugman,
1991). It may also benefit from input sharing and knowledge spillovers. This is especially rele-
vant for coworking, as social interactions are one of the main expectations for customers.
Considering real estate strategies (Chanson 2022) and following localization externalities,
one should expect the coworking spaces to open more particularly in central business districts
to benefit from knowledge spillovers.

4.2 Empirical data


We use the database Cartographies interactive- CARTOVIZ of the Institute of the Paris re-
gion, which provides data for the name and the address of the coworking spaces in each
arrondissement of Paris. The location of each coworking space is depicted in Fig. 1.2.

FIGURE 1.2 Map 1. Location of coworking spaces in Paris. The map represents the location of coworking spaces
in Paris.

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


10 1. Coworking and the 15-Minute City

Moreover, we use the database Demande de Valeur Foncière (DVF) of the French govern-
ment, which provides data of all real estate transactions in France for the year 2019. The DVF
database contains 34,994 transactions for apartments in Paris for the year 2019. Based on the
selling prices and other information relative to the property for each transaction, we exclude
the transactions with missing data and multiple transactions. Moreover, we remove transac-
tions lower than 5000V per m2 and we eliminate transactions with surface lower than 9 m2,
which are not considered as apartments according to the French law. Most of them constitute
attic rooms. Our final sample consists of 26,331 transactions for apartments. Finally, DVF pro-
vides data for the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the real estate transactions.
Knowing the coordinates of the real estate properties and coworking spaces, we can locate
them in the arrondissements and cadastral sections (subdivisions of arrondissements) and
calculate the Euclidean distances. Table 1.1 shows the maximum distance between coworking
and apartments. This maximum distance should be compared to the maximum distance that
can be covered in 15 minutes on foot (1.2 km or 0.75 miles) or bicycle (4.8 km or three miles)
(Duany & Steuteville, 2021). Thus, the access to each coworking space is possible within
walking distance in each arrondissement in Paris following the 15-Minute City principles.
We have seen that a dense network of coworking spaces has emerged in Paris (like in
many other metropolises) in approximatively 10 years. This development could be compared
with the first six lines of subway constructed in Paris between 1900 and 1910. Two differences
could be noted: first, the development of this network has been completely realized by pri-
vate actors without any public momentum. Second, the actual coworking spaces are the sur-
vivors of a long process of Darwinian selection. These specific features explain that this
development results more from a business competition than from an urban logic. Conse-
quently, one could expect more spatial inequalities than in a public network conceived
through an urban planning.
Table 1.2 shows spatial inequalities in coworking proximity. Rich downtown arrondisse-
ments (second and eighth) often have 10 times more coworking per 100,000 habitants than
cheap arrondissements of the outskirts (13th, 14th, 19th, and 20th). We find similar results
for the number of coworking per companies.
Regarding real estate prices, we have first assessed the property price per m2 for each
cadastral section (CS). Then, we have calculated in each arrondissement the average price
per m2 of all cadastral sections with and without coworking spaces. It highlights the impact
of the coworking proximity on real estate prices by comparing prices per m2 in cadastral sec-
tions with or without coworking spaces. This reveals a contrasting situation. Considering all
arrondissements, the average ratio price per m2 in cadastral sections with/without cowork-
ing spaces is 0.99. However, this apparent absence of global impact reveals different effects
depending on the arrondissement. There is a premium real estate price for coworking prox-
imity in poor arrondissements on the outskirts. For example, in the cheapest arrondissements
(19th and 20th), there is a premium price of 3%e10% for real estate prices in cadastral sections
with coworking spaces.
Based on these results, we show that the network of coworking spaces established in the
last 10 years has significantly impacted the urban structure of Paris. In the poor arrondisse-
ments of the outskirts, the opening of a coworking space revitalizes a neighborhood. It at-
tracts people eager to work within walking distance. Independent and white-collar
workers are the more affected.

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


4. The location of coworking spaces: a spatial network 11
TABLE 1.1 Distances coworking-home and metro-home by arrondissement.
Max distance Average distance Max distance Average distance
Arrondissement coworking-home (m) coworking-home (m) metro-home (m) metro-home (m)

1 464,28 152,76 209,32 95,44


2 221,69 106,60 197,16 98,96

3 490,46 193,28 221,07 102,19


4 678,19 327,05 205,63 94,31
5 657,54 246,00 276,05 93,45
6 599,72 323,59 223,41 81,50
7 656,48 311,47 274,43 97,80
8 530,75 182,57 290,91 104,05

9 545,73 207,20 186,92 85,83


10 460,16 168,18 295,24 106,69
11 658,89 240,00 235,22 99,32
12 693,07 283,74 232,39 95,38
13 864,66 397,12 328,86 100,23
14 931,49 475,15 330,18 107,64

15 934,58 404,56 309,19 100,41


16 882,29 307,21 322,65 109,43
17 922,29 220,05 301,27 101,65
18 828,35 355,22 272,72 93,42
19 1211,43 392,06 274,69 104,35
20 1250,07 506,68 303,45 101,76

This dynamic contributes to a gentrification process. This concept coined by the German
sociologist Ruth Glass in the 1960s could be defined as a transformation process of
working-class neighborhoods, through the arrival of better-off households (Clerval, 2008).
Laska and Spain (1980) describe gentrification as a back to the city movement of middle-
class suburbanites wanting better proximity to jobs and the kind of cultural and recreational
infrastructure that were hard to find on city peripheries. Such a movement should be consid-
ered for Paris, which has been hit by a declining population. Through the network of
coworking spaces erected during the last 10 years, Paris has built the foundations for the
15-Minutes City. This network offers the possibility to almost anyone to work within walking
distance of their home, on condition that the work could be done remotely.

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


12 1. Coworking and the 15-Minute City

TABLE 1.2 Real estate prices and coworking by arrondissement.


Price/m2 in CS without Price/m2 in CS with Nb of coworking/ Nb of coworking/
Arrondissement coworking coworking residents*100,000 firms*100,000

1 13694,05 16255,38 67,68 75,77


2 11661,53 11820,34 118,46 161,76

3 13185,84 12458,42 34,49 109,36


4 14436,35 13140,36 7,28 26,14
5 13025,69 13171,67 11,84 66,57
6 15885,32 15500,75 12,22 46,12
7 15738,45 13342,08 9,52 34,20
8 13972,24 12173,48 120,70 81,36

9 11872,80 11635,98 35,22 86,83


10 10111,78 10421,32 27,19 101,31
11 10193,97 9886,44 12,24 64,23
12 9526,83 10064,39 14,13 101,36
13 9202,02 8630,24 4,41 47,73
14 10384,06 9968,09 3,65 30,67

15 10225,82 10150,17 6,00 52,69


16 11689,61 12268,49 10,88 50,73
17 11111,29 11028,50 10,72 54,85
18 9641,61 9438,34 5,64 45,05
19 8346,72 9160,81 4,83 49,97
20 8707,20 8980,81 2,56 20,43

5. Conclusion

In the last decade, many metropolises have built a dense network of coworking spaces. In
comparison with the construction of the subway network, few observers have noticed it,
because of the iterative nature of the openings of private coworking spaces without any pub-
lic momentum. Nevertheless, this network provides a powerful basis for the 15-Minute city,
in terms of work. This issue has previously been theoretically analyzed through the lens of
the commuting time. With an average daily commuting time of 70 mn (second place among
the European Union capitals), Paris is particularly concerned by this issue. This network en-
ables 100% of Parisians to have a coworking-home distance inferior to 1.250 m corresponding

I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


References 13
to the 15-Minute City concept. A more detailed analysis highlights the differences between
arrondissements, contrasting rich arrondissements in the city center and cheap arrondisse-
ments in the outskirts. In the latter, the coworking proximity attracts independent and
white-collar workers, contributing to a gentrification process.

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I. The ‘15-minute city’ concept: sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity


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Chicago
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Title: Christmas in Chicago

Author: Fanny Butcher

Illustrator: Theresa Garrett Eliot

Release date: November 1, 2023 [eBook #72002]

Language: English

Original publication: Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1926

Credits: Bob Taylor, Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed


Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRISTMAS


IN CHICAGO ***
CHRISTMAS IN
CHICAGO

BY FANNY BUTCHER

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
THERESA GARRETT ELIOT

BOSTON AND NEW YORK


HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge
1926
COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY FANNY BUTCHER
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Riverside Press


CAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO
A FLARE of lights. A giant tree tapering up and up until it seems to
melt into the sky, except that the glittering star which crowns it
puts to shame the gentle glimmerings in the background of the blue-
black heavens. Spangles, like a circus-rider’s dress, flutter in the
swish of air, blaze out in the footlight glare of the barrage of lights
which are turned on the tree. The family Christmas tree giganticized
to a tree for the family of the great city.
And underneath, thousands upon thousands of human beings
tramping about in the snow, listening to a band, watching the
fluttering bangles of the spectacular tree. A river of motors slowly
flowing past the picture–slowly, whether they will or no, for there is
no hurrying in the mass that drives down to see the tree.
In the mêlée that worms about beneath the tree there are men and
women from the four corners of the earth. There are faces moulded
in such fantastically different casts that you cannot but wonder how
mankind can be all one mankind. There are voices thick with the
gutturals of Middle Europe, soft with the sunshine of the South, and
heavy with the interminable consonants of the North.
There is a medley of sound, human voices of all the tones of the
earth’s surface doing that peculiarly unmusical feat of all talking at
once, and being heightened rather than subdued by the din of the
band trying to be heard in a bellowing of that gentle lullaby ‘Heilige
Nacht.’ And the overtone is always the honking of impatient
motorists or gayly inclined ones who feel that the best way to
express approval in modern life is to make as loud and raucous a
noise as possible.
And all over the city, in its endless miles of boulevards and parks,
little brothers of the great tree are glittering against the sky. And
underneath those others, as underneath the great tree itself,
mankind swishes and huddles and gazes and talks. Miles and miles
apart they are, from the steel mills on the south painting the sky a
flame red to the fastnesses of suburban sobriety and sedateness on
the north, from the vast new bungalow-studded southwest to the
factory-dotted northwest merging into two-flat buildings and inter-
urbaned real estate plots.
The municipal tree of Chicago–whether it be the great tree on the
lake front or the offspring which each local community rears as a
pledge of its own Christmas joys–is a triumph of civic ideals. It is a
symbol to the thousands, who are strangers–if not in fact, at least in
that pitifully intense way in which mankind can be alone in the
millions that make a great city–that the city is human. And it has
been such a short time that the city has been human–that it has had
time to be anything but a growing, hungry, physically developing
giant of a child. Out of its rompers, Chicago is now, and present at
the great moment of decorating the Christmas tree of the ‘children.’
There is something adolescent and very charming and very naïve
about this Christmasy Chicago. It has just reached the time when it
feels that the world is taking some notice of it, when it feels its first
thrills of conquest, when it cleans out its pockets, throws away the
broken knife blades and the slightly worn wads of gum and the
marbles and substitutes the picture of the chorus girl and the pocket
comb. It is washing behind its ears. And it can blush with gorgeous
naïveté at the thought of making a social faux-pas. It is terribly self-
conscious, and like all growing youth it still has its cosmic dreams.
Chicago’s delight in its Christmas tree is at the same time the
delight of the child in any glittering gaudily lighted scene, and the
delight of the youth who remembers his baby days and his
passionate belief in Santa Claus and sees in the great tree a
monument to the few years that have intervened.
There is romance in that thought. Within the memory of many men
and women who walk beneath the great tree, within the lifetime of
one of the thousands of trees that have been brought to the making
of the great tree and its lesser relatives, the spot did not exist at all
where now the gigantic realization of a dream of a Christmas tree
stands. It was a wave on its way to lap a sandy shore, or caught in
the fastnesses of ice. And the shore when it was reached was a spot
where children picnicked in summer, where horses were brought to
the water’s edge for a drink, where wagons were washed, where the
water itself was dipped up in buckets and carried into the little
houses of the village. It was a spot where bemuffled children slid
back and forth in winter, cautiously keeping inshore. The spot where
the great tree stood the first time it was made, before the outlying
communities had their separate celebrations, on the land just east of
Madison Street and north of the Art Institute, was in the very early
days a public burying-ground. Rude storms from the east frequently
gnawed at the earth until it had given up its hidden coffins, battered
them into fragments, and left scattered, gruesome remains on the
shore when the calm came. Within the lifetime of a man it has grown
from burying-ground to the waterfront park of one of the great cities
of the world.
On any Christmas Eve in those days–and some are still alive who
remember it–the smooth motor-filled boulevard which magnificently
borders the city was a country road, frozen in deep ruts, or, if the
weather had been mild, a sandy morass, thick and impassable. And
the streets just west of it, the streets which are filled with Christmas
shoppers, with ballyhooers for jumping bunnies and sparklers and
little rubber men who stick out their tongues and great tin lobsters
which waddle around on the sidewalk, the streets which are thick
with human beings and every known mechanical device to lure them
and give them comfort and excitement–these same streets were
frozen bogs of pathways barely worth the name of road, often with
an abandoned cart mutely crying their impassability. Signs
proclaiming ‘No bottom here’ told the tale which the rivers of mud
only hinted at. The very street, where an elevated whangs by
overhead, a street car clangs its warning to the holiday crowds, and
ceaselessly honking motors make a bedlam of the air, is the scene of
the classic story of the man who, in the early days, was up to his
ears in mud. From a spot identical with one which is being stepped
over by thousands, so the story goes, a pedestrian offered to throw
out a lifeline to the mud-imprisoned neighbor. ‘Don’t worry about me,’
he is said to have answered, ‘I’m on a good horse.’ That story
delighted our grandfathers.
The sidewalks, lined with gaudy windows wheedling dollars from
the passers-by and noisy with street hawkers, passionately supply
last-minute gew-gaws for the tired men and women who have had to
shop late because they had no money to shop early–sidewalks
smooth and wide and sturdy to the tramp of millions of feet–not over
a lifetime ago were narrow strips of wood, raised on stilts, with
enough room underneath for children to play and for rats to hold
continuous convention. Within the memory of its oldest inhabitants
those same planks which served as walks were the scene of many a
fiasco when an arrogant Indian would calmly push a child off into
mud which almost smothered it–an indignity which had to be borne
by the members of the community who still remembered the horrors
of the Fort Dearborn massacre. Those same lordly concrete ways
were the scene in the early days of many a romantic moment when
carriages and carts were drawn up to the very doors of the houses
and shops and whatever strong male arms that happened to be
present were offered to lift the ‘wimminfolks’ safely from one dry spot
to another. High hip boots, they all wore, those early Chicago
cavaliers, and of necessity.
Is it not a legitimate glitter of pride in the twinkling eyes of the great
tree when it looks upon the vast and teeming loop of the city and
remembers that, not so long ago but that men now living can
remember, the whole prairie south of the river was a great bog, dry
at times, but always at the mercy of every rainfall, and of the
seepage from the erratic river that flowed now into the lake and now
from it? Ten feet lower than the land to the north of the river it was–
this spectacular loop of Chicago, which is unlike the same space of
ground anywhere else in the world–and only the dreamers could see
that it could ever be made into a city. Is the pride out of place when
one remembers that the first civic accomplishment of the village was
the gigantic one of raising the level of the south bank and its
adjoining acres until it was no longer sick with sogginess? And may it
not also be a matter of pride that that river, so gayly going its own
unreasoning way, now north, now south, was tamed to the quiet
dignity of flowing in one direction?
Would it not give any city a Christmasy feeling of triumph to realize
that the land which looks out upon its harbor, land which to-day is
weighed in ounces of gold, where great hotels and shops harbor the
riches and fripperies of the world, was, within the memory of men
and women still actively a part of the city’s life, the pasture for the
whole town south of the river? It has been many a year since a cow
wore down the grass by the roadside of Michigan Avenue, or
munched its way about on the prairie, but no more than sixty years
ago all of the residents of the South Side took their cows out in the
morning and went for them at night. The community practically
ended at Wabash and Adams Streets, and the favorite grazing lands
were the spots where the Blackstone and Stevens Hotels now have
their roots. Even as late as 1871, the year when the world was
shocked by the news of the great Chicago fire, cows were still
wandering about contentedly in the prairies.
Mayn’t the city well wear a mammoth Christmas tree as an
adornment this Christmas morning when it looks upon its vastness,
when it remembers that, from a mere handful of settlers less than
ninety years ago, it has become the home of over three millions? In
hundreds of thousands of homes in the vast miles that make
Chicago as large and populous as many a monarchy, there are small
replicas of the great tree, jeweled with many colored electric bulbs
sheltering gifts, each single one of which would have dowered a
bride in the older days. A diamond bracelet, dangling to the delight of
some eager daughter or wife, is a bauble which, in those days,
would have bought the entire loop. A house and an adjacent block of
ground could have been purchased with the money that has been
spent for one of the many shiny new motor cars that stand in front of
hundreds of shiny little brick houses for the first time this Christmas
morning.
In the old days, a pair of shoes, woolen underwear, warm mittens,
or a highly extravagant ‘fascinator’ knitted by skillful fingers were the
gifts which elicited shrieks of joy from the recipients. An orange was
the height of luxury for a child; and he had one orange, not a basket
full of them. One wealthy old settler tells with heart-breaking candor
of his envy at the sight of a playmate who owned and devoured one
large orange before his yearning eyes, and how the memory lasted
for years. The highly humanized modern doll, that does everything
but think, now walks under the adoring eyes of its ‘mama’ and says
‘Papa’ and ‘Mama’ with equal tenderness to-day. In the early days a
little girl was being pampered by her mother when she found among
her useful Christmas gifts a creature made of rags and which had to
have all of its talking and walking done for it.
Parties all over the city as big as a country are gay with boys and
girls home from preparatory schools and colleges and fathers and
mothers and grandfathers and grandmothers, all apparently the
same age, all living lives made easy by modernity. In the great hotels
that face the tree, there are numberless Christmas celebrations,
where the guests are all handsomely dinner-jacketed and gowned,
all very sophisticated, all having eaten just a little too much and
perhaps tippled less wisely than well, dancing something that in the
early days of Chicago would have shocked the city fathers. And
there is much conversation about the small high-powered roadster
that this one found in his Christmas stocking, and the jaunt to Palm
Beach as soon as the Christmas gayeties are past, and the new
bridge rules, and there is more rich food and bubbly drink.
Cosmopolitan, typically modern American they all are, with yearly
trips to Europe to furbish up a wardrobe or to buy knick-knacks for
the new house. There is as much wealth in the persons of the guests
as in the old days the whole territory west of the Hudson would have
boasted.
In the memory of one of the grandmothers who is lending, for an
hour or so, the dignity of her presence to the party, Christmas was
the homiest of the home festivals. The whole season was a simple
preparation for the only really passionately anticipated event of the
year–New Year’s Day. On Christmas there were family gatherings,
with long dinners of prairie chicken and whatever frivolities the clever
housewife could concoct, with no fresh fruit, no nuts, no out-of-
season vegetables, and no skilled French cooks. The ‘hired girl’ was
a blessing (or the curse) of only the few wealthy homes. The caterer
had never been heard of, and when he finally did make his
appearance fifty or sixty years ago he supplied nothing except ice-
cream. In the wealthiest households a fiddler might be had in, but not
guests outside the family. Usually some member of the family had
enough talent to play the simple music which the dances required.
And such dances! Square, sedate, but hilariously thrilling to
grandmother as well as granddaughter.
There would be no extravagantly glittering Christmas trees. Very
few families except the Germans had a tree at all. Boughs of
evergreen were tacked over the doors and the windows, gathered
from the great woods north and west of the city, the woods which are
now a part of the most populous miles in Chicago.
If the family happened to live on the north shore of the river and
was bid to a family Christmas on the south shore, it dragged itself, of
necessity, across the Chicago River on a hand ferry at Rush Street,
or crossed at Dearborn Street on a bridge operated by hand cables.
And whether the party were joyously gay or not, as moral upright
villagers they must needs be at home and in bed by ten o’clock, or, if
distance and utter levity demanded, they might possibly sneak in at
midnight.
While the tree is still on the lake front, it will watch the mobs
rushing into the city on New Year’s Eve for the bacchanal which has
come to be the American custom of welcoming in the New Year. In
the old days, every one was so excited about New Year’s Day that
they hadn’t time to waste on its eve. In the rare households where
the ladies of the family were not receiving, a basket was hung on the
doorknob in which the callers left their cards. Otherwise, the ladies,
furbelowed in their most extravagant gowns, ‘received’ and kept an
accurate account of the number and names of the gentlemen who
honored them. The days after New Year’s were spent in comparing
notes and–for the beaux–in recovering from hot toddy and fried
oysters and chicken salad, which the fair hostesses had probably
spent half the night before preparing.
The nearest approach to the casual, large, group parties, which
the Christmas holidays see nowadays, was, in those days, the
Firemen’s Ball. Every one who was any one belonged to the fire
brigade. The young blades of the village rivaled one another in their
devotion to it. A fire was a social event of the first water. The town
was very wooden, and fires were frequent and thorough. Whenever
one started, the entire town dropped everything and rushed to see
the fun. The men dressed themselves up in their opéra-bouffe outfits
and pumped water–until Long John Wentworth gave them an engine
that didn’t need hand pumping–and the ladies arrived as soon
afterwards as possible with sandwiches and pots of coffee. One met
every one at a fire.
It was meet that the Firemen’s Ball should be the civic social event
of the year. It happened in January. The one in 1847 was a triumph
long remembered. There were ten hundred and fifty invitations, all
written and delivered by hand (no engravers or post for the
meticulous hostesses of those days). It was held in the firehouse and
the élite of the city attended.
For the Christmas festivities nowadays the long, luxurious trains
which roll into Chicago from the East bring many guests who stay a
day and dash on to another city in equally luxurious trains. They
don’t realize it, but the city which they are visiting so casually is the
railroad center of the United States. Mankind surges through its land
gates as it surges through one of the great ports of the world. But
things were far different in the early days. Any one who wanted to be
in the village of Chicago for Christmas couldn’t decide on December
24th at two o’clock in the afternoon and arrive on Christmas morning
from the East. Weeks were spent in the journey. Covered wagons
served for the ordinary travelers, but the élite came by boat. For a
week, if the winds were fair, they were uncomfortable and crowded
and badly fed and sick while the boat hurried toward Chicago from
Buffalo. And the days they had spent–or weeks–to get to Buffalo! It
was never considered much of a trip. They finally arrived and found
a town which well deserved its name of ‘garden city,’ and their
enthusiasm for its quiet and comfort after the long hard trip must
have had much to do with the increasing numbers which year after
year made the arduous trip.
The Christmas feast was not planned the day before Christmas,
either. Days of hunting the fowl which were its backbone preceded
the work of the housewife. The father and the boys did the shopping
for her with guns. There were no great slaughterhouses to supply
her with dressed fowl. The packing industry wasn’t even heard of.
For many years now Chicago has been known as the ‘pork-packing
town.’ Every visitor who comes from overseas insists upon being
shown through the ‘Yards.’ English poets have celebrated Chicago
for its stockyards odor, and missed the fresh spiritual fragrance of
youth and a zest for life that simply exudes from the city through its
smoke and its dirt and its city smells. But in the early days pigs were
just pigs, and not a world advertisement. They were a nuisance, not
even a luxury. The village had to pass an ordinance that ‘any pig or
hog running at large without a ring in its nose shall be fined $2.00
collected on conviction of such offense before a justice of peace.’
Pigs running around loose in the suavities of Michigan Avenue–isn’t
that enough to give the giant tree an extra glimmer of mirth and of
pride at what the years have done?
In the darkness of the nights between Christmas and New Year’s–
nights which are now hectic with sirens of motors and the scrape of
shifting gears and the continual swish of human voices and the blare
of lights–within the memory of men and women living, the quietness
of a town safely shut in by its own fireside was in the air, with the
occasional call of the town crier–‘Lost! Lost! Lost! Little girl seven
years old!’
Chicago has left those days behind it, but memories of them make
sweeter the complete security and comfort of the city in these days.
And the dazzling pyramid of jeweled green, a giant’s dream of a
Christmas tree, is a symbol of the child’s fairy-tale come true. It is a
Christmas boutonnière tucked into the proud buttonhole of Chicago.

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