Urban features and energy consumption at local level

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in discovering human effects on the environment and energy consumption in the recent decades. It is estimated that the shares of energy consumed in transportation and housing systems are around 20 and 30 percent of the total energy consumption. Furthermore, it is believed that the residential greenhouse emissions depend on urban form and structure. This paper explores the effects of urban features on residential energy consumption at neighborhood level using data collected through household questionnaires (n = 140). Two residential districts in the metropolitan Shiraz, located in the south of Iran, were selected as case study areas. Different features of the two areas including building density, typology, housing location, parcel size, floor area and construction materials were compared. Ordinary linear regression was used to discover the impact of explanatory variables on energy consumption. It was found that some physical variables such as parcel size, setback, and the number of floors played significant roles in explaining the variances existing in energy use level. The results can be considered by governmental agencies in order to modify land use policies and subdivision rules in hope of saving energy and achieving a sustainable community. © 2012 Journal of Urban and Environmental Engineering (JUEE).