benefits of compact, mixed use development

This article measured how urban form affects energy use by looking at energy requirements of different housing stocks and electric transmission and distribution losses, as well as heating and cooling requirements accompanying urban heat islands. Housing and density data were retrieved from the U.S. Residential Energy Consumption Survey (EIA), American Housing Survey (U.S. Census), and Public Use Microdata Sample (U.S. Census), while temperature data was gleaned from existing literature that analyzed data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research 50-year Reanalysis. Urban form was quantified using USDA and Census data for the following variables: population density, percentages of people living in areas less than 1,500 persons/mile and more than 12,500 persons/mile, persons per developed square mile, average block size (sq mi), and percentage of blocks with areas of less than 1/100 of a square mile. These were calculated using data from the U.S. Census and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Inventory. The authors found that, after controlling for energy price, household income, and race, single-family housing consumes 54% more energy for heating and 26% more for cooling than multifamily housing. They also found that houses are larger in sprawling areas and measured the additional energy output required based on British thermal units (BTUs) for heating- and cooling-degree days. Compactness was found to increase urban heat island effects, but a compact area would save 17.9 BTUs per household.