Impacts of urban form on integrated energy demands of buildings and transport at the community level: A comparison and analysis from an empirical study

Abstract

• Combining research on building energy demands with transport energy consumption is performed. • CO 2 emissions from buildings are around four times higher than transport-related activities. • Multinomial logistic modelling was applied to evaluate travel mode selection. • Travel time and distance have statistically significant relationships with transport mode choices. Buildings and transport are key sources of energy consumption in cities. However, most previous studies have investigated energy consumption separately, and have not explored them in combination. This study investigates the energy consumption of both buildings and transport activities, with the city of Wuhan in China being used as a case study. Three categories: travel patterns, participants’ evaluations on travelling, and socioeconomic characteristics, are analysed. The findings have shown that buildings produce approximately four times more CO 2 emissions than transport activities, with annual CO 2 emissions from residential buildings being higher than those produced by public buildings in well-developed areas. Mode-choice modelling revealed that travel time and distance play critical roles in determining transit modes. For example, a traveller is 1.44 times more likely to choose a transit option than walking if the trip distance increases by one kilometre. Moreover, driving decisions are heavily influenced by monthly household income, car ownership, comfort level and self-assessments of congestion. The simultaneous study of the carbon emissions of both buildings and transport can help urban policymakers, planners, and designers to avoid unintended outcomes of one-sided strategies to reduce urban CO 2 emissions.