Urban densification and housing typology for climate change mitigation

Abstract

This paper investigates different urban growth and densification scenarios and their energy performance under climate change conditions using urban energy simulation. We developed an abstract urban growth model based on the West Campus neighborhood in downtown Austin, Texas. Four different scenarios were applied to an abstract population growth model, which were then tested from the current year to 2100 under both climate change and control (TMY) conditions. Our results show that all urban growth models perform similarly in terms of operational energy but differ radically in terms of carrying capacity and embodied energy.