Earlier this year, the urban planning world lost a giant. Donald Shoup, the Distinguished Professor known for transforming how we think about cities and cars, passed away. Shoup didn’t just challenge parking policy—he cracked open a much bigger conversation about how cities should serve people, not vehicles.
His central insight? More parking doesn’t ease congestion. It fuels it. Build more parking, and you get more cars, more traffic, more pollution—and less time to live.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Lagos, where the average commuter loses over two hours a day stuck in traffic. That gridlock isn’t just annoying—it’s expensive. Nigeria’s economy loses USD 9.3 billion annually due to congestion, hitting small businesses hardest.
We can—and must—do better. It’s time to redefine the 15-minute city.
Too often, this concept is misunderstood as just urban mobility: placing amenities, services and jobs within walking distance. But proximity without purpose is just a shorter commute to the same problems. The real 15-minute city is a human-centric city—where every element of urban design serves people first: thriving neighborhoods, cohesive communities, smart land use, local jobs, clean air and safe, seamless mobility.
Start with parking. In many cities, parking lots eat up nearly a quarter of land—land that does little for community life. Imagine if just a fraction of that was turned into mixed-use developments, green space, affordable housing, premises for thriving local businesses. That’s not a theory. That’s transformation.
Take Sydney. Hemmed in by the Blue Mountains and the Pacific, the city is building in, not out. The New South Wales government is planning 377,000 new homes—all centered around transit hubs. More homes, fewer cars, and seamless access to jobs and livelihoods.
Dubai is also stepping up. Under the 2040 Urban Master Plan, over half the population will live within 800 metres of public transit. Expo City Dubai, the physical legacy of Expo 2020, and the new centre of Dubai’s future growth, already has its own metro station, with a growing network set to link riders to nearly 100 stations. That includes direct access to Al Maktoum International Airport, which is set to be the world’s largest aviation hub.
But it’s not just about trains and buses. The real shift is cultural. Streets once dominated by asphalt and engines are being reimagined with trees, bikes, scooters and walkways. These aren’t just prettier streets—they’re invitations to live differently.
Of course, infrastructure isn’t enough. Real change comes from listening: to residents, to commuters, to business owners. Cities must be co-designed with the people who live in them. And policies must nudge us all—gently but firmly—towards better habits.
This October, city leaders and urban innovators will gather at the 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit & Mayors’ Forum, hosted at Expo City Dubai to explore such solutions. The transformative power of urban mobility is just one of many topics that will be interrogated at the event as changemakers and thought leaders take a deep-dive into the issues we need to address between now and 2050, when seven in 10 people are expected to live in cities.
So the real question is this: Are we ready to design for people, not just vehicles?
The ideas exist. The tools are here. What’s needed now is bold leadership—and collective courage.
• Caroline Bos is the Co-founder and Principal Urban Planner at UNStudio-the architecture design firm behind the Expo City, Dubai master plan.
