Urban Form and Energy Use Explored Through Dynamic Networked Infrastructure Model

这个项目旨在通过将交通与使用交通产生的不同类型的建筑物联系起来，加强我们对城市形态所涉及的能源问题的了解。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，使用公共交通工具，与城市蔓延地区相比，人均能源消耗往往要小得多。在城市蔓延地区，居民住在独立的房子里，开车距离很远。将城市区域划分为住宅、商业和工业空间也会影响能源使用。当家庭、工作场所和购物区被隔开而不是更近时，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想象为一个由建筑用户来自不同地区的方式定义的网络。这个网络能源模型是为凤凰城大都市区开发的，它还跟踪了随着社区的发展，交通和建筑使用如何随着时间的推移而变化。该项目的成果将帮助城市规划者了解如何设计更节能、更宜居的社区。例如，混合居住、购物和工作区域可以缩短驾驶距离，节省燃料和时间。即使在城市扩张的模式下，将住宅和购物区分布在一起，也会使步行和骑自行车成为一些旅行的诱人选择。为了使项目成果可供更广泛的利益攸关方使用和了解，开发了一个可视化工具，并将其与城市规划者的教育和联网活动相结合。

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.