Exploring the X-Minute City by Travel Purpose in Montréal, Canada

Abstract

To achieve the x-minute city, we need to understand which destinations are currently reachable or can be reached by sustainable modes within a defined travel time threshold. We find that concentrating on a set of destinations (Leisure and Shopping) and disregarding work trips from the definition of x-minute city can potentially make this concept a more attainable one for 15- and 30-minute city concepts in the North American context. For shopping trips, near half of the current car trips can be replaced by sustainable modes and still be carried out in less than 15 minutes, whilst around 70% of car trips can be replaced by sustainable modes and conducted in less than 30 minutes. Incorporating public transport as a sustainable mode in the x-minute city definition will make it a more achievable one for a specific set of destinations and encouraging sustainable travel behavior requires attention to the importance of local accessibility.