Reducing Energy Consumption, while Protecting the Environment - Energy and Climate: How to Achieve a Successful Energy Transition - page 53

Figure 5.2 Energy consumption for transport vs. urban population density ( Source :

Newman P. and Kenworthy J., 1999)

Various attempts have been made to create more enjoyable and more
sustainable urban settings. Bedzed (Beddington Zero Energy Develop-
ment), constructed in 2000 south of London is the first eco-village in the
world. The city of Freiburg in Bade-Wurtemberg, an area once occupied
by military barracks, has been developed according to a sustainable
scheme, favouring collective transport modes combined with the use of
individual bicycles. In China, Dongtan, in the north of Shanghai, is
designed to become the first sustainable city in the world. Its ecological
footprint is planned to be reduced to a level of 2 ha per inhabitant.
In the future, the urban setting must aim at an optimal use of the
available space through diversified housing, designed for limiting the time
lost during transport and the consumption of energy. Rather than choos-
ing to rely solely upon the use of individual cars, it is necessary to promote
amulti-mode transport system 3 , with priority given to collective transport
modes for the longest distances. The development of remote data trans-
mission and smart guidance systems should also facilitate the introduction
of more flexible solutions.

3 Associationof different transportmodes in order touse themost appropriate one for eachpart of
the journey.