Urban Form and Energy Use Explored Through Dynamic Networked Infrastructure Model

该项目旨在通过将交通与交通所产生的不同类型建筑物的使用联系起来，提高我们对城市形态的能源影响的理解。城市形态与能源使用和碳排放交织在一起。在人口密集的特大城市，居民住在公寓楼里，使用公共交通，人均能源使用量往往比城市蔓延地区少得多，在城市蔓延地区，居民住在独立的房子里，开车长途旅行。将城市地区划分为住宅区、商业区和工业区也影响到能源使用。当家庭、工作场所和购物区分开而不是更近时，需要更多的能源。人们可以将给定工作场所或商店的能源使用视为由建筑物的用户如何来自不同区域定义的网络。这个网络能源模型是为凤凰城大都市区开发的，也跟踪了交通和建筑物使用如何随着社区的发展而变化。该项目的成果将帮助城市规划者了解如何设计更节能和更宜居的社区。例如，混合居住区，购物区和工作区可以缩短驾驶距离，节省燃料和时间。即使在城市扩张模式中，将家庭和购物区分布在彼此附近也可以使步行和骑自行车成为一些旅行的有吸引力的选择。为了使更多的利益攸关方能够使用和了解该项目的成果，开发了一个可视化工具，并将其与面向城市规划者的教育和网络活动相结合。

This project aims to enhance our understanding of the energy implications of urban form by connecting transport with the use of different types of buildings resulting from that transport. Urban form is intertwined with energy use and carbon emissions. Energy use per person in dense mega-cities, where residents live in apartment buildings and use public transportation, tends to be much smaller compared with urban sprawl areas, where residents live in detached houses and drive long distances. The division of urban areas into residential, commercial and industrial spaces also affects energy use. More energy is needed when homes, work places and shopping areas are separated as opposed to closer. One can think of the energy use of a given workplace or store as a network defined by how users of the building are coming from different areas. This networked energy model is developed for the Phoenix metropolitan area and also tracks how transport and building use changes over time as a community evolves. The results of this project will help urban planners understand how to design more energy efficient and livable communities. For example, mixing residential, shopping and work areas can shorten driving distances, saving fuel and time. Even in an urban sprawl model, distributing home and shopping areas near one another can make walking and biking an attractive alternative for some trips. To make the results of the project usable and known to a broader group of stakeholders, a visualization tool is developed and integrated with educational and networking activities reaching urban planners.