The 30-minute city is not only better for the body. It is better for the brain.

A 15-minute neighborhood risks becoming too closed, too repetitive, too village-like. It gives convenience, but it may also reduce exposure to difference.

The 30-minute city gives you a wider cognitive and social field:

more routes, more neighborhoods, more people, more friction, more surprise, more urban learning.

That matters sociologically. A city is not just a service machine where needs are met efficiently. A city is also a machine for encountering difference.

So your argument could become:

The 15-minute city optimizes proximity.

The 30-minute city optimizes exposure.

Or:

The 15-minute city asks: what do I need nearby?

The 30-minute city asks: how far can I move through difference while staying healthy?

This is powerful because it connects fitness, cognition, and urban culture.

A 30-minute bike ride gives you:

physical exercise — heart, muscles, metabolism

mental stimulation — orientation, attention, changing scenery

social exposure — different streets, classes, cultures, behaviors

urban understanding — you learn how the city actually works

emotional reset — movement clears the head

That makes it much richer than “commuting.” It becomes a daily urban experience.

A possible manifesto line:

The healthy city is not the city of minimum distance, but the city of meaningful distance.

Or even stronger:

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