This article's author reports his and economist Matthew Kahn's recent findings on metropolitan areas and carbon emissions. As it turns out, living in a high density area is one of the best things one can do for the environment.
"In only four cases in the entire 66-city sample were carbon emissions higher in central cities than in suburbs. In Los Angeles, central-city residents are using far more electricity than their suburban counterparts--possibly because newer, energy-efficient houses tend to be in the suburbs and because the urban core has many large homes."
"The data suggest a strong general pattern: households in dense urban areas have significantly lower carbon emissions than households in the suburbs.
So California environmentalists have things exactly backward. If climate change is our major environmental challenge, the state should actively encourage new construction, rather than push it toward other areas.
It should ease restrictions in the urban cores of San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego. More building there would reduce average commute lengths and improve per-capita emissions. Higher densities could also justify more investment in new, low-emissions energy plants."
FULL STORY: Help the environment, stay in the city
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Bossier City - Parish MPC
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Bangor
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
