Spatial planning as a driver of change in mobility and residential energy consumption

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of territorial structures upon energy consumption in the Walloon Region (Belgium). The rationale for this research is to consider the long-term influence of spatial planning decisions upon energy consumption in both residential building stock and home-to-work commuting. The analysis has been conducted on a regional scale (16,844km2) and includes urban, peri-urban and rural settlements. Those settlements that perform well in mobility also appear to perform well in terms of building energy consumption. Even though this is not generally the case, it further reveals that some rural settlements characterized by low density show good performance in terms of energy efficiency. This permits a much more progressive approach in terms of spatial planning, whereby compact cities may be viewed as part of the solution, albeit not the whole solution.