Transport and reduced energy consumption : what role can urban planning play?

Traffic volumes and energy consumption from the transport sector continue to rise, yet the potential role of urban planning in contributing to reduced transport energy consumption continues to be largely underplayed. The growth of suburban areas tends to increase traffic volumes by dispersing activities and hence facilitates private car travel. Public transport orientated development as an evolving practice tends to be focused very much on urban areas. This paper draws on research in suburban Surrey to suggest that urban planning can be applied more fully, at the strategic and local levels, to reduce energy consumption in car use. The future locations of housing growth are critical to our future travel behaviour – the lessons from Surrey can be applied to a certain extent to the Growth Areas and Housing Pathfinder Areas and elsewhere – however it is only through a careful integration of transport and urban planning that the potential for reduced travel can be realised. Regression analysis shows that urban form variables contribute up to 10% of the variation in transport energy contribution. The conclusion reached is that integration requires action across a wide range of fields and from a wide range of actors. New households, for example, should be located in a coordinated manner in relation to the density of development, settlement size, distance from urban centres and transport networks, jobs and housing balance, local streetscape layout, public transport accessibility and green belt designation. Ad-hoc “pepperpotting” of new housing development no longer remains an option. “Smart growth” strategies can reduce transport energy consumption, with greater transport sustainability being achieved through clearer direction on the location and form of major new development.