Tashkent to move parking out of mahalla courtyards under the '15-minute accessible environment' project

What is planned to be changed in Tashkent's mahallas

The Tashkent city administration (hokimiyat) has presented details of the '15-minute accessible environment' project, under which kindergartens, schools, clinics, household services and recreation areas should be located within a 15-minute walk from home. The authorities' idea is that this will reduce the time spent on everyday errands. This was reported by Spot.uz, citing a statement from the capital's administration.

Parking — out of the courtyards

The main change will be moving parking lots and driveways outside the inner courtyards of multi-story residential buildings. The freed-up space is planned to be used for children's playgrounds and sports grounds, squares and shaded alleys for walks and meeting neighbors. The Uzbek-language version of the administration's statement also specifies that modern surveillance cameras and SOS buttons for calling emergency services will be installed on mahalla streets.

The scale of the project and its origins

The renovation of 100 mahallas in Tashkent is planned for 2027, and by 2030 there should be 400. The '15-minute mahalla' principle was presented on October 14 at a presentation before the president Shavkat Mirziyoyev: at that time, a comprehensive renovation of four mahallas of the Yashnabad district was announced — Vatandosh, Mokhinur, Al-Bukhari and Tong — covering an area of 75 hectares, with the construction of four kindergartens of 540 places each, three clinics, the creation of 2,000 additional school places, as well as a 3-kilometer walking path. Thus, the hokimiyat's statement of October 29 reveals the practical content of the previously presented concept — in particular, it is only now that the decision to move cars out of the courtyards has been named, which was not mentioned in the October presentation.