| The spatial complexity of urban form has a tremendous influence on the daily energy needs of its residents. The sprawling suburban development pattern, the most prevalent planning paradigm in today's society, drowns cities in infrastructure costs while depleting them of farmland, groundwater and fresh air. By continually subsidizing this low-density urban form with new roads, new water and sewer systems and lower taxes, cities are caught in a downward cycle. To end this cycle, cities need to break with conventional planning practice and start offering its residents an alternative to sprawl.; Energy planning on its own or as part of an existing planning process is a more sustainable alternative. By consciously planning for and designing energy efficient neighbourhoods cities can reduce their overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while revitalizing and redeveloping their inner cities. At the neighbourhood scale, developing a compact and integrated urban form promotes alternative mobility options such as transit, cycling, and walking as well as increases the publics' awareness of the implications of their choices on the environment.; An inner city neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta is the site for this investigation and acts as a case study for the usefulness of this approach. |
