Urban form and spatial structure as determinants of the ecological footprint of commuting

In this research we examine the relationship between the ecological footprint of commuting and several variables of urban form and spatial structure for the case of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, paying special attention to the role of population density and polycentrism. Stopping the low density urban dispersion and encourage polycentrism are two of the main policies advocated by the supporters of the Compact City Approach to achieve more sustainable cities. The literature on the impact of population density offers inconclusive results and studies that address the role of spatial structure are very scarce. The results obtained in this research indicate that polycentrism has advantages in terms of low footprint. The effect of population density is more controversial. These results indicate that polycentric spatial planning can be a good strategy to reduce the ecological footprint of cities.