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Since 2013, Isobenefit Urbanism was proposed as a city model “in which each dweller can do her/his usual main daily activities by walking or at maximum biking” “to reach places of work, shops, amenities (recreational, medical, cultural. . .), and centralities from our habitations” (D'Acci L.S. 2013).

“The time to reach the ordinary daily points (work, buying food, recreational time, education, a green area […]) should not be higher than a reasonable time (T*) which is around 30 minutes walking/10-15 minutes biking” (D'Acci L.S. 2014-15) or "15 min walking (namely within around 1 km)" (D'Acci L.S. 2018)

It is called a "one-mile green city", or "Isobenefit Urbanism". The term "isobenefit" is a portmanteau word from "iso" meaning equal, and "benefit" referring to the beneficial walkable proximity to amenities, services, workplaces, centralities and green space.

in 10 points: what does Isobenefit Urbanism (IU) add or how/what it differs/emphasizes?

1) Uniform dislocation of centralities:

proximity to centralities (aiming at re-basing the self-organized spatial emergency of centralities, on the walking premises as in pre-industrial cities and towns);

2) Hyper-connected archipelagos of walking units:

having all the above centralities interconnected among themselves (ideally by sky trains and undergrounds to leave the land free);

3) Uniform dislocation and proportion of Natural land:

proximity to the green, intended not simply as urban parks but actual natural lands too (forests...);

4) Urban form shaper:

the consequential constant proportion and proximity between green and built area, no matters the scale, (village, town, city, megacity) determines the actual urban form and its evolution;

5) Semi self-organized:

such forms are semi-spontaneously generated, without planning strict impositions, as long as proximities to 1 and 3 are provided, it doesn't matter how;

6) Limitless growth:

the ease of increasing urban size by simply adding and linking walkable units;

7) Algorithmic growth:

it provides an easy algorithm which could be flexibly combined with the use of Artificial Intelligence and planners-local contingency aims;

8) Borrowing size:

because of points 1 and 2, all points are easily reachable from distant locations thanks to the interconnectedness of walking+skytrains, therefore reaching population-thresholds to make centralities economically viable, and creating a hyper-connected archipelago of walking units rather than enclaved walking-ghettos. IU doesn’t restrict into local community life, and it doesn’t spatially confine daily life, but extends it;

9) Horizontal centralities network:

synergy is not vertically achieved through a web-type network based on complementarily of the 1-mile unit’s centralities; but horizontally via club-type networks. Specifically, this is achieved via branches of same companies, universities, services spread across centralities rather than having a centrality just for universities, another just for banks, another just for medical services, and so on;

10) Fluid morphogenesis:

IU is not a cluster of small settlements orbiting a central city; is not fixing a determined density, size and typology.

ISOBENEFIT URBANISM

Uniform walking proximity to:

NATURE

proximity to the green, intended not simply as urban parks but actual natural lands too (forests...)

CENTRALITIES

proximity to centralities (aiming at re-basing the self-organized spatial emergency of centralities, on the walking premises as in pre-industrial cities and towns)

HYPER-CONNECTED
mass transit

Hyper-connected archipelagos of walking units: having all the centralities interconnected among themselves (ideally by sky trains and undergrounds to leave the land free)

History

A chronological path toward the walking city

in 10 points: what does Isobenefit Urbanism (IU) add or how/what it differs/emphasizes?

1) Uniform dislocation of centralities:

2) Hyper-connected archipelagos of walking units:

3) Uniform dislocation and proportion of Natural land:

4) Urban form shaper:

5) Semi self-organized:

6) Limitless growth:

7) Algorithmic growth:

8) Borrowing size:

9) Horizontal centralities network:

10) Fluid morphogenesis:

ISOBENEFIT URBANISM

Uniform walking proximity to:

NATURE

proximity to the green, intended not simply as urban parks but actual natural lands too (forests...)

CENTRALITIES

proximity to centralities (aiming at re-basing the self-organized spatial emergency of centralities, on the walking premises as in pre-industrial cities and towns)

HYPER-CONNECTED mass transit

Hyper-connected archipelagos of walking units: having all the centralities interconnected among themselves (ideally by sky trains and undergrounds to leave the land free)

History

A chronological path toward the walking city

in 10 points: what does Isobenefit Urbanism (IU) add or how/what it differs/emphasizes?

1) Uniform dislocation of centralities:

2) Hyper-connected archipelagos of walking units:

3) Uniform dislocation and proportion of Natural land:

4) Urban form shaper:

5) Semi self-organized:

6) Limitless growth:

7) Algorithmic growth:

8) Borrowing size:

9) Horizontal centralities network:

10) Fluid morphogenesis:

HYPER-CONNECTED
mass transit