“You don’t need to be a conspiracist to have concerns” – the imperative of proactive conversations

‘X-minute city’ has been entangled with conspiracy theories but not all scepticism is unfounded. The question then is how to respond to the justified critical voices, given the academic world is already debating and critiquing various aspects of the x-minute city ideas. Drawing on two brief examples of policy and research communication, more specifically the Scottish Government’s recent planning strategies and guidance on 20 minute neighbourhoods and local living and a collection of articles touching on x-minute city on ‘The Conversation’ respectively, this viewpoint discusses how the professional and academic communities can facilitate more proactive and constructive conversations with the sensible applications and discussions of the x-minute city ideal.