ABSTRACT

The oil price shocks of the 1970s resulted in modal shifts affecting the capacity utilisation of both private and public transportation. As part of an ambitious energy policy, urban planning may have an important role in the long-term in diversifying energy use and reducing energy vulnerability, and in stretching the limits of energy efficiency through structural conservation by carefully organised urban systems. This chapter summarizes three ongoing projects that deal with inter-dependencies between energy planning on the one hand and urban and regional planning on the other. The emerging structure of a flexible system of models for urban energy impact analyses is sketched. The chapter distinguishes between the scenario level and the urban-systems level of energy impacts. Some preliminary results are presented to illustrate the analyses. However, firm conclusions have to await completion of the projects.