URBAN DENSITY AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION: A NEW LOOK AT OLD STATISTICS

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2004

Subject Area

planning - methods, land use - planning, land use - urban density, land use - urban density, ridership - mode choice, ridership - commuting, place - urban, place - cbd, mode - bus

Keywords

Work trips, Urban areas, Statistical methods, Statistical analysis, Population density, Multivariate analysis, Mode choice, Modal choice, Mathematical statistics, Land use planning, Journey to work, Energy utilization, Energy consumption, Employment, Downtowns, Correlation analysis, Correlation (Mathematics), City centers, Choice of transportation, Central business districts

Abstract

This study uses an innovative multivariate statistical technique called Co-Plot to crystallize some of the relationships between urban density and energy consumption in western cities. The method is applied on Newman and Kenworthy's (1989) data, leading to the conclusion that there is no direct impact of total urban density. However, there are correlations between energy consumption and several aspects of density. For example, inner area and central business district levels of employment density appear to have the potential to reduce energy consumption. This relationship, as well as the strong negative correlation between energy consumption and the level of use of public transportation, emphasizes the relative advantages of radial transit trips mainly for work purposes.

Comments

Transportation Research Part A Home Page: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564

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