Urban sprawl; commuting; energy; town and city planning; transport planning
Abstract :
[en] Commuting to and from dense urban centres is often believed to be more energy efficient than commuting from more suburban areas. However, quantitative evidence is lacking. In this context, this paper investigates the interactions between the spatial structure of the territory and transport energy consumption for commuting. Based on empirical surveys carried out every 10 years in Belgium, a quantitative method was developed and applied to assess energy efficiency of home-to-work and home-to-school travels. Our main findings highlight that urban structure acts upon travel energy consumption for commuting and that major cities present low energy consumption. However, a local-scale approach is useful for refining these observations, and this approach highlights the existence of secondary suburban and rural cores that also are characterized by low transport energy consumption. In this respect, the distance from home to a destination is paramount, whereas the mode of transport used has a lower impact. The method is parameterised and reproducible in other territories.
Research center :
Lepur : Centre de Recherche en Sciences de la Ville, du Territoire et du Milieu rural LEMA
Disciplines :
Architecture Regional & inter-regional studies Energy
Author, co-author :
Marique, Anne-Françoise ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département Argenco : Secteur TLU+C > Urbanisme et aménagement du territoire
Dujardin, Sébastien; Université de Liège - ULiège > Lepur
Teller, Jacques ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département Argenco : Secteur TLU+C > Urbanisme et aménagement du territoire
Reiter, Sigrid ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département Argenco : Secteur TLU+C > Urbanisme et aménagement du territoire
Language :
English
Title :
Urban sprawl, commuting and travel energy consumption
Publication date :
February 2013
Journal title :
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Energy
ISSN :
1751-4223
eISSN :
1751-4231
Publisher :
Thomas Telford Ltd
Volume :
166
Issue :
1
Pages :
29-41
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Name of the research project :
SAFE (Suburban Areas Favoring Energy efficiency) / SOLEN (SOlutions for Low Energy Neighbourhoods)
Funders :
DGATLP - Région wallonne. Direction générale de l'Aménagement du Territoire, du Logement et du Patrimoine [BE]
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