ENERGY AND URBAN-DEVELOPMENT IN AN ARCHETYPAL ENGLISH TOWN

In this paper, a study of the effects on energy use in transport and in domestic space heating of a range of options for the location of new development in and around English towns is reported. The results suggest that in energy terms there is little to choose between the realistic options for the location of projected levels of new development in and around existing towns. An analysis of land-use and transport patterns in a representative sample of twenty English towns was used to construct a model of an 'archetypal' town for research purposes. The model embraces land-use patterns, the hierarchical street pattern, and the division of the town into functional and historical areas. Local planning authorities' predicted requirements for new housing and related development in the twenty study towns were used in the preparation of a hypothetical twenty-year development plan for the archetypal town, incorporating a range of options including peripheral expansion at low and medium densities, containment combined with increased densities in some locations, and accompanying improvements to roads and public transport systems. The options were compared by means of the TRANUS land-use, transport, and energy-analysis model.