Urban Transport Energy Consumption: Determinants and Strategies for its Reduction.

Abstract

The following article is an analysis of urban sustainability with reference to the threat of climate change. We will be focusing on urban transport energy consumption since this is the greatest challenge and an area in which policies adopted in the near future will have a crucial impact on long term energy consumption. Based on a critical review of the literature, we will begin with a recapitulation of what is known today of urban transport energy consumption determinants (Part 1). We will be discussing the role of average density and its determinants, the influence of urban structures, defined as the spatial distribution of activities and households, and finally, the structuring effects of successively dominant transport technologies. We will then review recent forms of urban development, which are a source of concern (Part 2, and the pessimistic aspects of this finding (Part 3). We will then consider possible solutions to curb non-sustainable urban developments (Part 4). We will be pleading in favour of urban planning which explicitly integrates interaction between transport and land use. We will then be discussing the set of tools which city planners can make use of, analysing their pertinence and the possible interconnection between transport policies and land use policies capable of redirecting urban growth towards sustainable paths.