Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainability in Urban Planning and the Energy Impact of Sprawl

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on key issues in the analysis and application of sustainability in urban planning and household energy consumption. First, we address the need for a better method to translate the concept and tools of sustainability from theory to practice by developing a collaborative framework for academic analysts and planners to jointly implement the principles of sustainability in urban and regional planning. We apply the framework in Champaign-Urbana, IL where sustainability principles have been incorporated in the planning process as a result of our work. We learn that this framework helps the analysts to better understand real-world issues and constraints and assists the planners in considering broad interdisciplinary issues related to sustainability in a more practical manner. We also find that strong barriers still exist for sustainability to be a driving force in local planning. Second, we recognize that reducing household energy consumption is a key component of sustainability, but there are no recent estimates of the energy intensity of US households to compare across communities. We analyze household energy consumption in the US for 2003 using methods that are based on previous studies on energy cost of living and estimate the differences in the energy intensity of sprawl versus compact living. This is particularly relevant to urban sustainability as cities and towns are places where a large portion of the energy is consumed by end users. We find that even though sprawl-related factors account for about 83% of household energy consumption, sprawl is only 18--19% more energy intensive than compact living in the US in 2003. We also find that the share of energy used for residential energy and motor fuel by US households have increased over the last 30 years. In addition, we analyze the relative contribution of various demographic predictors on total household energy consumption and develop two models for scenario analysis. This analysis offers opportunities for local planners to formulate policies and plans that would be more effective in reducing household energy consumption and improving energy efficiency in their communities.