Evaluating Compactness of Cities by Energy Consumption Efficiency

Abstract

We present a microeconomic based quantitative analysis scheme to evaluate compactness of cities by the energy consumption efficiency considering 1) the utility theory based on personal consumption behaviors, and 2) a consistency between the level of utility and energy consumption. By representing quality of life by utility, this study develops a CES typed model to estimate the actual and minimum individual energy consumption for present utility. Energy consumption efficiency index is introduced to analyze the compact level of cities. We applied this model to the Kumamoto and Nagasaki region. Higher energy consumption efficiency is found in Nagasaki which has more compact city structure and masstransit usage. Zones with higher energy consumption efficiency are mainly located in city center and along mass-transit lines in both regions. Such findings suggest that more compact urban structure and higher mass-transit usage can induce greater urban energy consumption efficiency.