Potential for Coordinated Strategies in Transport, Spatial Development and Rational Use of Energy in Buildings

University of Ulster - Jordanstown
County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Sponsored by:
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
United Kingdom

In developed countries, much of the focus of the interest in the concept of sustainability relates to the apparently inexorable rise in the demand for car travel and the issue of the ability or even the desirability of supplying sufficient road space to accommodate it. It is increasingly recognized that this rise in demand for travel by private car is being fueled more by increased spatial separation between homes and workplaces, shops and schools than by any increase in the amount of trip making. However, the complexities of the links between location of activities and resulting travel requirements are less clearly understood. This presents major implications for policies concerning release of housing land on the edge of cities versus the encouragement of use or reuse of sites, such as inner city locations, having good or potentially good public transport accessibility. Concern about the implications of outlying town and suburban shopping centers impacts on sustainability, preservation of open space and the viability of city and town centers are a reflection of a growing car dependency. However, realistic urban development policies and strategies addressing these issues cannot be divorced from expectations of enhanced consumer choice and those associated with contemporary living standards.

This study proposes a different approach to most previous efforts by adopting a comprehensive and integrated approach to the problems and issues of modeling changes in land development patterns; utilization of transport; and domestic and stationary source energy consumption and pollutant emissions. The goal of this effort is to shed light on the interdependencies of these urban activity sectors. The study approach incorporates modeling of impacts of transport accessibility and energy efficiencies on determinants of consumer choice and pricing to reflect economic considerations influencing consumer behavior.

The study is a two-year effort and will be centered around a geographic information system (ARC/INFO), database and application environment incorporating:

• A travel demand model of the Belfast urban region;
• A trip activities/land use spatial reallocation model;
• A model of domestic energy consumption incorporating consideration of fuel type/usage patterns and building form; and
• Economic models of tradeoffs between transport accessibility/energy efficiency and consumer costs.

Iguana is supporting this work through assistance to the research team in study design and planning; and through provision of tools and services to support the conduct of the necessary modeling and research. Iguana will be using the study as an opportunity to extend development of existing products and to perform prototype testing of new development.

The study utilizes IguanaSpace and other Iguana tools to provide an integrated research environment and to provide World Wide Web access to the study server hardware at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown. Iguana is also providing study coordination support through our corporate web site.