15-minute city noun [C]
UK /ˌfɪfˈtiːn.ˌmɪn.ɪt.ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌfɪfˈtiːn.ˌmɪn.ɪt.ˈsɪt̬.i/
a city that is designed so that everyone who lives there can reach everything they need within 15 minutes on foot or by bike

Moreno, who is also Paris City Hall’s special envoy for smart cities, is regarded as the key theorist behind the recent resurgence in a new model for urban planning that seems almost custom built for this localised future: the ‘15-minute city’ … The 15-minute city requires minimal travel among housing, offices, restaurants, parks, hospitals and cultural venues. Each neighbourhood should fulfil six social functions: living, working, supplying, caring, learning and enjoying.
[bbc.com, 14 December 2020]

sponge city noun [C]
UK /ˌspʌndʒ.ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌspʌndʒ.ˈsɪt̬.i/
a city that is prone to flooding and so has been rebuilt in a way that allows more rainwater to be absorbed back into the ground

The “sponge city” initiative, launched in 2015, is an attempt to … soak up heavy precipitation and release it slowly into the river and reservoirs. Using features such as rooftop gardens, scenic wetland parks, permeable pavements and underground storage tanks, the plan is to eventually absorb or reuse 70% of the rainwater that falls on four-fifths of China’s urban land.
[bloomberg.com, 13 August 2020]

linear city noun [C]
UK /ˌlɪn.i.ə.ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌlɪn.i.ɚ..ˈsɪt̬.i/
a very long, narrow city built in a straight line

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has unveiled plans for a 100-mile-long linear city called The Line. Announcing the project in a new video, the city would include a series of walkable communities for a million people with no cars or streets. The project locates essential facilities within a five-minute walk of housing, connected “modules” linking the Red Sea coast with north-west Saudi Arabia as part of the NEOM city-state.
[archdaily.com, 15 January 2021]

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