Assessing the 15-minute city in socialist-era housing estates: a multi-threshold pedestrian analysis in Kraków, Poland

This research investigates 24 socialist-era housing estates in Kraków, Poland, constructed between 1949 and 1989. We analyze current accessibility in these districts to essential services within 15-, 10- and 5-minute walking durations by employing a QGIS pedestrian network model to calculate accessibility indices for linking residential locations with neighbourhood amenities. Findings suggest that Kraków's housing estates offer near-universal 15-minute walking access to core amenities (98.9% accessibility): nearly all residential buildings lie within 15-minute buffers of basic services-100% accessibility to commercial services, schools, parks and public transport, and 99% accessibility to health care-confirming that mid-20th-century planning principles readily support today's vision for 15-minute cities. Accessibility to neighbourhood amenities declines only slightly for shorter walking distances of 10 minutes (92.5% accessibility) and 5 minutes (70.5% accessibility). Commercial services, public transport, and parks are consistently the most accessible neighborhood amenities, followed (in order of decreasing accessibility) by schools, health care, and culture, sport, and entertainment opportunities. Findings from a historical review suggest that Poland's socialist-era urban planning norms are reflected in today's accessibility realities: 1951 and 1974 urban planning codes required precise distance standards (300 to 800 metres, or 4 to 11 minutes walking duration) for locating services, schools, transit stops, and green space.