Ajman will become the first 15-minute city in the Arab region by 2030.
According to the Ajman Municipality and Planning Department, residents will be able to access everything they need within 15 minutes by walking, cycling, or taking public transportation.
“A 15-minute city is a residential urban concept in which most daily necessities can be accomplished by either walking or cycling from residents’ homes,” explained Dr. Eng Muhammad Ahmed bin Omair Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the Infrastructure Development Sector, to media.
“It was implemented for the first time in Paris and is now being implemented in many European countries. The Emirate of Ajman would the first city in the region to implement such a theory.”
Dr. bin Omair continued by emphasizing that the Ajman Municipality will implement this model in cooperation with strategic partners in the public and private sectors, as well as the local community. Several initiatives will be launched to implement the concept.
The implementation of the 15-minute initiative would contribute to a positive lifestyle change as it would encourage everyone to walk and use public transportation instead of a private vehicle. Paths and directions will be developed, infrastructure will be built, policies and legislation will be adopted, he promised.
“Work is currently underway to prepare electronic maps that calculate and locate the main activities of any point in the neighborhoods and determine the options available to access these activities, as well as the time, is taken for that,” he said.
The project is part of the municipality’s 2030 strategy, which aims to achieve sustainable development based on four pillars: proximity, diversity, density, and location.
