This paper examines the energy use patterns in transport, and how they have changed over the last two decades. The paper establishes the links between urban form and energy consumption in the transport sector. This has formed the basis of a series of major research projects in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The analysis focuses on physical, social, and economic factors. All these factors seem important in determining energy use levels in transport. It is concluded that although energy efficiency in all forms of transport is increasing, this is more than outweighed by the growth in traffic. Energy use in transport is likely to continue to increase. It will be difficult to meet the emission targets set at the 1992 Rio Summit. The tendency to live at lower densities, to value open space and a higher quality of life, to commute long distances, to establish complex activity patterns, all mean that it is very difficult to change these trends. As cities themselves become more dispersed and looser agglomerations, the prime concern of planners should be to make cities more attractive places in which to live. That is the only way to remain the city in the next century. Transport inefficiency may be one of the costs of achieving that objective.
Abstract