Cities and Energy: Urban morphology and residential heat demand

The first phase of this project concluded in Summer 2011 with the completion of an internal report: ‘Urban Morphology and Heat Energy Demand’ by LSE Cities and the European Institute for Energy Research (EIFER) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology focuses on heat energy efficiencies created by the spatial configuration of cities.  The new report aims to better understand the heart-energy related performance of different types of urban form at a scale of 500 by 500 metres. As empirical basis of this study, samples of dominant urban typologies were identified for Paris, London, Berlin and Istanbul. In principle, three areas of intervention have the capacity to play equally important roles in reducing heat-energy demand. These include behavioural adjustments, technological advancement and design considerations. This study exclusively focuses on design related issues at their most fundamental level; urban form.

In March 2014, LSE Cities published the report and paper on the impact of urban morphology on heat energy demand in cities in collaboration with the European Institute for Energy Research (EIFER) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

The research report Cities and Energy: Urban Morphology and Heat Energy Demand focuses on heat energy efficiencies created by the spatial configuration of cities and is based on the identification of the five most dominant residential building typologies in each of the four largest European cities: London, Paris, Berlin and Istanbul. The paper authored by Philipp Rode, Christian Keim, Guido Robazza, Pablo Viejo and James Schofield presents the overall methodology and findings and is published under the same title in Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 41(1) 138 – 162.