Cities are not about efficiency, and never have been. The most meaningful urban experiences are generally the most inefficient. But this lack of efficiency is also why they are naturally resilient, if their design patterns follow the purposeful redundancy described above.

Imagine the perfect urban neighbourhood. Residential streets are peppered with shops and cafés. Schools, museums and theatres can all be reached on foot. Green spaces offer a quiet escape. Some cities, such as Copenhagen, Paris and Tokyo, already function this way. These “walkable” cities—sometimes called “15-minute cities”—offer everything that lo... See more