Edmonton is the latest ‘15-minute city’ to be caught in a global conspiracy theory

On a past Friday afternoon, Senior City Planner Sean Bohle introduced himself to a crowd of protesters who stood ready to answer questions about Edmonton’s building code. “Two months ago,” he joked, “I couldn’t pay people to talk to me about this stuff.”

Now, standing on a corner of Whyte Avenue, he was explaining why the municipal effort to create a more walkable city was not really a Hunger Games-style government plan to lock people into their neighborhoods.

The city just wants more people to be able to walk to their local grocery store, he said as protesters circled him and hurled questions. Wasn’t the government really just trying to restrict private car ownership? No, Mr. Bohle replied, but building more bike lanes could mean fewer parking spaces. Why didn’t the plan specifically promise never to barricade people in districts? “We didn’t think of that,” he said bluntly. “There’s an infinite number of things the plan won’t do. For example, we will not castrate your chinchilla.”

At one point, the organizer of the protest, 19-year-old Alexa Posa, produced a Bible. At her request, Mr. Bohle put his hand on the cover and swore he would to “vehemently oppose” any attempt to restrict movement in the city.

“Oh boy,” he said when asked about that moment in an interview a few days later. “It was a ridiculous thing. But the alternative seemed to be telling people I don’t stand by what I’m saying.”

The Whyte Avenue protest stemmed from a circulating conspiracy theory that the local government had secret plans to illegally restrict the movement of people in the city.

The theory, which distorts a popular urban planning concept called the “15-minute city,” appears to have started in Oxford, England, late last year. A few weeks ago, it rode the social media misinformation train to Alberta and feasted on breadcrumbs in a 180-page community development plan released in 2021 that most Edmontonians will never crack.

That document included the concept of “15-minute neighborhoods,” where planners would prioritize bringing more amenities, such as coffee shops and doctor’s offices, within walking or biking distance of residents living there.

The idea of ​​creating walkable cities goes back decades. But the catchy brand name was formal Conceived in 2016 by a Parisian urbanist named Carlos Moreno at Panthéon-Sorbonne University. His goal was to increase comfort, reduce pollution and shorten commutes, while making cities better places for people who cannot afford a car at all. “This is my common good concept,” Prof. Moreno said on a Zoom call from Paris. his ears are burning from online insults. “Today I am the enemy of the state. This is totally insane.”

For years, the main debate about 15-minute cities has been how to actually reach them, particularly in already built-up suburbs. Or whether gentrification would make it impossible for workers at the new grocery store to afford another apartment in the same neighborhood. “An unattainable utopia” – that was the most common criticism Prof. Moreno heard.

But then, in 2021, the World Economic Forum — a gathering of wealthy elites that has become an easy target for conspiracy theorists — began posting about the concept on its website. And somehow, 15-minute cities have been conflated with a newly announced initiative in Oxford to limit private cars on certain roads and impose congestion charges to reduce congestion holding up city buses and ambulances.

Congestion charges are not a new idea either – they have been used successfully in London, Singapore and Stockholm for years. But a false rumor has been going around that Oxford also has plans to set up citizen checkpoints at neighborhood borders. The conspiracy theory grew in cities like Paris, which have officially adopted the 15-minute city concept. Prof. Moreno’s vision of a barrier-free, climate-friendly city was now a sinister plan to imprison the population. An internet post he read suggested electric fences.

A few scary tweets and viral TikTok videos later, and suddenly Edmonton city officials like Mr. Bohle were being inundated with angry emails and panicked phone calls about neighborhood closures.

One option would be to ignore this kind of talk and hope it fades away. Clearing a person of fake news once they believe it is frustrating work, and confronting a conspiracy can quickly become uncomfortable.

However, according to experts, a calm and non-confrontational conversation, such as Mr. Bohle chose, can help stop the spread of viral misinformation.

“It’s important to give them another option and to show them why it’s worth changing perspective,” says Luisa Heizmann, a psychologist at the German organization Zebra, which works to stop the spread of conspiracy theories and radicalization Curb counseling for families and individuals. “When people become really isolated and continue to fall down the rabbit hole,” says Ms. Heizmann, “it’s harder to get out.”

Ms. Posa was impressed that Mr. Bohle, who came with a colleague from his department, even came to her protest. “It was a difficult thing,” she said.

So did Edmonton City Councilman Andrew Knack this week, who championed the 15 Minute City idea engages in social media. (A Twitter example: What happens if you leave your “district”? Mr. Knack: “Same thing that happens if you leave your district now – nothing.”) He got a rather colorful call from a guy in Oklahoma , who makes fun of him plans in Edmonton. He spent half an hour on the phone with a local woman trying to understand and allay her genuine fears that city officials were quietly planning to lockdown the city. (The still painful memory of pandemic restrictions plays a big part in this conspiracy.)

The results have been mixed, Mr Knack admits. Some thank him, others walk away angry. “Talking about it,” he says, “at least makes you feel like someone was listening.”

While it’s easy to dismiss a few extreme tweets, the rise of conspiracy theories is undermining trust in the social contract. “I worry about what will become of the idea that together we can build a better city,” says David Gordon, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University.

That Friday afternoon on Whyte Avenue, Mr. Bohle said his aim was to offer some “boring planning facts” and keep the collective conversation going. As he left, people told him they weren’t entirely convinced, including Ms. Posa; the idea of ​​a 15-minute city still sounded suspicious. But they said it while shaking his hand and thanking him for coming.