Suburban solutions: The other side of the story (original) (raw)
Related papers
TRANSPORT AND REDUCED ENERGY CONSUMPTION: WHAT ROLE CAN URBAN PLANNING PLAY?
Traffic volumes and energy consumption from the transport sector continue to rise, yet the potential role of urban planning in contributing to reduced transport energy consumption continues to be largely underplayed. The growth of suburban areas tends to increase traffic volumes by dispersing activities and hence facilitates private car travel. Public transport orientated development as an evolving practice tends to be focused very much on urban areas. This paper draws on research in suburban Surrey to suggest that urban planning can be applied more fully, at the strategic and local levels, to reduce energy consumption in car use. The future locations of housing growth are critical to our future travel behaviour -the lessons from Surrey can be applied to a certain extent to the Growth Areas and Housing Pathfinder Areas and elsewhere -however it is only through a careful integration of transport and urban planning that the potential for reduced travel can be realised. Regression analysis shows that urban form variables contribute up to 10% of the variation in transport energy contribution.
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 2011
Land-use and transport systems are an important determinant of carbon dioxide emissions from urban regions. It is often asserted that urban compaction is the spatial policy best able to constrain travel and emissions, but evidence supporting this assertion is limited, particularly with respect to the combined emission from transport and land use. Here, using land-use–transport interaction models, a residential dwelling type model, and transport and emission models, we forecast and assess carbon dioxide emissions from transport, dwellings, and commercial space to 2031 for a range of spatial strategies realistically investigated for three English regions of decreasing size (the Wider South East region, Tyne and Wear, and Cambridge). Our results reveal that compaction can reduce emission relative to other spatial scenarios but that the differences are small, about 5% between extremes, an order of magnitude less than emission growth observed over the trend period. Form has more influenc...
Transport Policy, 2013
This paper investigates the factors that affect travel behaviour within neighbourhoods in Tyne and Wear, North East England while accounting for differences in attitudes and perceptions. Ten different neighbourhoods have been carefully selected to characterise the two different types of traditional and suburban neighbourhood street layouts. A self-administered questionnaire has been delivered to 2200 households to capture neighbourhood design, travel patterns, travel attitudes and socio-economic characteristics. Multivariate analysis of cross-sectional data shows that some socio-economic variables as well as travel attitudes and neighbourhood design preferences can explain the differences in travel patterns between the two distinct neighbourhood designs. The results show additionally that the traditional neighbourhood group is more sensitive to factors of perception and attitudes in relation to neighbourhood design that lead to walking, cycling and public transport use travel patterns, suggesting that land-use policy designed to accommodate lower carbon-based travel together with measures to encourage active travel will have greater impact on the traditional group than the suburban group. This finding suggests that generic measures imposed by many governments, and certainly implied by current UK land-use policy, to promote sustainable mobility should be selectively targeted.
Sustainable urban housing - Can urban form affect the way of travelling?
2010
Great challenges connected to urbanisation, climate change and global warming are leading us towards a new planning paradigm, requiring that we develop new planning approaches. Urban areas contribute to an increasing energy consumption and transport. Increasing emissions from transport is an important topic we have to deal with. The Municipality of Trondheim together with The Norwegian University of Technology and Science (NTNU) and SINTEF have established a research project on carbon neutral housing settlements. This project is exploring how urban form can contribute to a more carbon neutral housing settlement through reduction of car traffic, favouring public transport, cycling, and walking. Studies tell us that in dense built central areas people are disposed to walk and use cycle to a higher extent than in suburban areas. On the other hand there is a segregation of the population in the city which affects transport needs. Mostly young and elderly people are living in central par...
Global warming impact of suburbanization: The case of Sydney
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018
Suburbs have naturally become a focal point of carbon mitigation for cities undergoing rapid suburbanization. This has created a debate over which urban form can more effectively lead to lower household carbon footprints (CF). Previous suburban-scale studies using economic input-output life cycle assessment with national average carbon intensities have demonstrated the mitigation potentials in households via urban planning. However, there is a need for suburban-scale multiregional input-output (MRIO) tables to model suburb-specific carbon intensities and thus to account for the heterogeneity of both production and consumption in different suburbs. This study explores the case of Sydney, Australia, and its many suburbs. The CF of households is broken down into 111 sectors and 248 spatial divisions of Greater Sydney by employing a suburban-scale MRIO model. The impact of domestic and overseas migration on household CFs is modelled during 2009e2010, and the CFs are allocated to different ethnic groups. The results suggest that residents in the densely populated city core have a comparable CF to residents living in outer city suburbs, thus contradicting previous studies supporting the notion that densely populated inner-city areas yield relatively lower CFs. The rapid growth of population increases household CFs in inner western suburbs. According to the study findings, the ongoing Sydney metropolitan development plan may therefore not be sufficient to provide a sustainable carbon emissions reduction strategy, if suburb density is increased without any constraints on resident consumption patterns. Urban planners need to consider policies to direct the investment brought by immigration towards a lower-carbon economy and infrastructure and also may take advantage of the sharing economy to change consumption behaviour.
Environmental Science & Technology, 2014
Which municipalities and locations within the United States contribute the 9 most to household greenhouse gas emissions, and what is the effect of population density 10 and suburbanization on emissions? Using national household surveys, we developed 11 econometric models of demand for energy, transportation, food, goods, and services that 12 were used to derive average household carbon footprints (HCF) for U.S. zip codes, cities, 13 counties, and metropolitan areas. We find consistently lower HCF in urban core cities 14 (∼40 tCO 2 e) and higher carbon footprints in outlying suburbs (∼50 tCO 2 e), with a range 15 from ∼25 to >80 tCO 2 e in the 50 largest metropolitan areas. Population density exhibits a 16 weak but positive correlation with HCF until a density threshold is met, after which range, mean, and standard deviation of HCF 17 decline. While population density contributes to relatively low HCF in the central cities of large metropolitan areas, the more 18 extensive suburbanization in these regions contributes to an overall net increase in HCF compared to smaller metropolitan areas. 19 Suburbs alone account for ∼50% of total U.S. HCF. Differences in the size, composition, and location of household carbon 20 footprints suggest the need for tailoring of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation efforts to different populations. 21 ■ BACKGROUND 22 Demand for energy, transportation, food, goods and services 23 drives global anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases 24 (GHGs). Households in the United States alone are directly or 25 indirectly responsible for about 20% of annual global GHG 26 emissions, 1,2 yet represent only 4.3% of total global population. 27 In the absence of comprehensive national climate policy, U.S. 28 states and over 1000 U.S. mayors have committed to GHG 29 reductions. 3 In response, a new protocol exists for managing 30 community-scale GHG emissions that emphasizes contribu-31 tions from households. 4 For compliance and voluntary policies 32 to be effective, information is needed on the size and 33 composition of household carbon footprints for all regions, at 34 metropolitan, county, city, and even neighborhood scales. As 35 global urbanization accelerates, increasing by 2.7 billion people 36 by 2050, 5 the lessons from the data-rich U.S. experience may 37 have increasing importance for planning efforts in urban areas 38 of the world's expanding list of mega-cities. 39 Previous research using a diverse set of methods focused 40 largely on large metropolitan regions or cities has shown that 41 household carbon footprints (HCF) vary considerably, with 42 energy, transportation, or consumption comprising a larger 43 share of the total and with households in some locations 44 contributing far more emissions than others. 6−9 For example, 45 motor vehicles in California comprises 30% of HCF, compared 46 to 6% for household electricity, while electricity is frequently 47 the largest single source of emissions in locations with 48 predominantly coal-fired electricity. 10 Income, household size, 49 and social factors have been shown to affect total HCF, while a 50 large number of factors have been shown to contribute to 51 household energy and transportation-related emissions. 1,8,11,12 52 A number of studies suggest that geographic differences in 53 emissions are in part explained by population density. 54 Population-dense municipalities tend to be urban centers 55 with employment, housing, and services closely colocated, 56 reducing travel distances, increasing demand for public transit, 57 and with less space for larger homes. Early research by Newman 58 and Kenworthy, 13 using data on 32 global cities, suggested a 59 strong negative log−linear correlation between vehicle fuels and 60 density (Figure S-1 in Supporting Information). More recent 61 work using data from domestic and global cities has also 62 seemed to confirm this relationship, although with more 63 variance than previously thought. 14 One thread of research 64 suggests that urban form (colocation of housing, employment 65