Ecological footprints and sustainable urban form

This paper presents the results of a four-year research project (1997-2001) entitled 'Housing as a basis for sustainable consumption'. The overall aim was to obtain more empirical and theoretical knowledge about the connection between physical urban planning and household consumption. This knowledge provides a platform for discussing principles and practices for sustainable urban development. This project was based on two main assumptions. First, it was suggested that the significant and increasing environmental damage due to private household consumption presents a major challenge in achieving sustainable development. Second, a large part of this consumption appears to be influenced by our physical living situation, i.e., the way we design and locate our houses. This also applies to energy use for heating and technical appliances, transport, and even to the considerable amount of equipment that is needed for household operation, redecoration and maintenance. With respect to transport, the study team included both everyday travel and leisure-time journeys in this research. While everyday trips such as travelling to work, shopping and taking the children to school are strongly influenced by the living situation of the household, this might also be true for leisure-time travel. Based on two large surveys in the Norwegian towns of Greater Oslo and Førde, the study team collected data on housing-related consumption from 537 households. Ecological Footprinting was then used as an analytical tool to analyse the environmental consequences of this consumption. These ecological footprint analyses suggest that sustainable urban development points towards decentralized concentration, i.e., relatively small cities with a high density and short distances between the houses and public/private services. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.