Energy consumption implications of physical layout: the case of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Abstract

The present paper attempts an inductive approach to a practical planning answer to these grave problems. Urban settlements are proliferating ever further into the countryside. How can these settlements be laid out in a way which would at the same time save land and avoid high-rise building concentrations and the effects of living off the ground. It could be called the high-density/low-rise alternative and takes its inspiration from the traditional pattern in European cities, from the denser parts of the English garden cities (Letchworth, Welwyn Garden City, Hampstead Garden Suburb) and from the less dense parts of recent developments, such as Kevin Lahti in Finland, Reston in the USA, La Verrihe-Maurepas in France and Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. This last development will be taken as a case-study.