Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Energy Efficiency Strategies in
Urban Plan
ning of Cities*
2.1 Introduction
As discussed in Chapter 1, the world's energy consumption in 2011 was
14,092 Mtoe; about 30 Giga metric tons of CO
2
emissions were released in
the atmosphere to meet this energy demand [2]. Greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and energy demand have risen high on the global environmen-
tal agenda—particularly with the Kyoto Protocol and other related global
agreements. Consequently, an urgent need has arisen for the incorporation
of energy efficiency issues into urban planning and construction [3]. To meet
the urban challenges of today, and the challenges to come, appropriate
planning strategies and management frameworks must be available, through
which cities can apply innovative approaches suitable for their local circum-
stances. This chapter will review the challenges that cities face and factors
that affect new strategies for urban planning where energy efficiency is the
core issue shaping the city's future.
2.2 Cities and Energy Consumption: The Macrolevel
The city can be seen as an ecosystem comprising five main sub-systems that
interact together. These are population sector, employment sector, housing
sector, transport sector and urban land sector [4].
2.2.1 Size
Cities vary in size, starting from only 25,000 inhabitants—the number of city
dwellers specified by Egypt's General Organization of Physical Planning
(GOPP). In Egypt, population size is the main driving force of urbanisation
*
Most of this chapter is derived from Khalil [1].
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