In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Bibb was living in a tight, one-bedroom apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. He couldn’t open his windows because his home was an old office building converted to residential units — not exactly conducive to physical and mental well-being in the middle of a global crisis. So he sought refuge elsewhere: a large green space, down near the lakefront, that he could stroll to.

“Unfortunately,” Bibb said, “that’s not the case for many of our residents in the city of Cleveland.”

A native of Cleveland, Bibb was elected the 58th mayor of the city in 2021. Immediately after taking office, he took inspiration from the “15-minute city” concept of urban design, an idea that envisions people reaching their daily necessities — work, grocery stores, pharmacies — w

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