A systematic review of the 15-minute city framework: implications for environmental heritage preservation in the Anthropocene

The 15-minute city model proposes a transformative urban planning framework aimed at reducing car dependency, enhancing accessibility, and promoting sustainability. Despite its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), empirical and quantitative validations of its environmental benefits remain scarce. This study employs a hybrid methodology that combines systematic literature review, topic modelling, and sentiment analysis to examine the capacity of the model to mitigate environmental challenges. The systematic review identified three main thematic areas in the literature: (1) decarbonization and environmental impacts, (2) sustainability and resilience, and (3) urban planning and accessibility. While the model has been widely discussed, only 10.2% of the literature focuses on environmental outcomes, revealing a significant research gap. Topic modelling further uncovers five core themes mostly related to urban planning and mobility, where critical environmental terms like ‘emissions’, ‘sustainability’, and ‘decarbonization’ are notably absent, reinforcing the lack of focus on the model’s ecological contributions. Sentiment analysis reveals a cautiously optimistic tone in scholarly discourse, with researchers recognizing the model’s theoretical promise but expressing reservations about its real-world efficacy in addressing climate change. Therefore, this study highlights the urgent need for context-specific empirical and quantitative investigations to quantify a 15-minute city’s contribution to reducing emissions and promoting environmental resilience in the long term. This study provides data-driven insights to guide policymakers and urban planners in making informed decisions regarding sustainable urban development in the Anthropocene epoch.