At Disability Equality Scotland, we recently joined the Health and Social Care Academy, and the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) to take part in an event series which explored the benefits and challenges of a 20-Minute Neighbourhood.

The 20-Minute Neighbourhood concept has gained attention internationally and has been developed in cities such as Melbourne, Portland and Paris. The concept looks at having all your basic needs – health and social care, shops, work hubs, places to socialise – met within a 20-minute walk, wheel or cycle from where you live. This event series was an opportunity to provide a space to consider what’s required to make them truly inclusive, accessible and transformational for everyone in the community.

Each event involved a panel of expert speakers and a chair. Speakers included those with an interest and knowledge of the themes; what is the 20-Minute Neighbourhood, exploring the 20-Minute Neighbourhood, getting around and accessing services, social connection, housing and greenspace, designing the 20-Minute Neighbourhood. As part of the event there was time in breakout rooms for participants to discuss these issues in more depth.

This 20-Minute Neighbourhood video, which can be viewed on The Alliance YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/YCnpq6cBFYY, aims to provide a snapshot of some of the key themes and discussions that came out of the series. An event report and set of key recommendations for actions around the 20-Minute Neighbourhood concept will be published in the coming weeks.