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Planners, engineers, and policymakers take a great interest in effective ways to mitigate carbon emissions by land use planning. Hence, the interrelationship between land use and carbon emissions has become a mutually concerned issue with the rapid economic growth and urbanization in the world. As the second largest source of carbon emissions, it has been argued whether transport-related emissions could be reduced by spatial planning and land use policy, since land use pattern, which affects urban form and configuration, is the origin of travel behaviors and has a close interaction with transport system. In this study, a traffic assignment model is incorporated with carbon emission evaluation at an individual trip level based on Origin-Destination person trip data in Changzhou, China, taking into account road types, capacity, velocity, and volume. On the other hand, land use pattern and landscape metrics are analyzed based on Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ) which are the basic geographic unit for person trip survey and transport planning. Then, by using the traffic assignment results we investigate the spatial distribution pattern of carbon emitted by person trips at the level of road link, and examine whether transport-related carbon emissions are correlated to land use pattern. Our study observes that the distribution of land use pattern and transport-related carbon emissions varies considerably between urban and rural areas, and arterial and collector streets inside built-up area are the major contributors of carbon emissions rather than major road, highway, or expressway. A regression analysis demonstrates that land use and landscape pattern are significantly correlated with transport-related carbon emissions. The correlations between carbon emission intensities, land for residential and commercial uses, and patch density (PD) shape inverted-U curves, which are consistent with the trends shown in the Kuznets Curve. Findings of this study are further developed to provide policy implications to resolve China’s low-carbon urban development. Since the Kuznets Curves do exist for the observed correlations between carbon emissions and land use, corresponding land use strategies like mixed high-density land use, compact city, etc. deserve more attention.

Background Developed countries adopt a compact city urban form or the densification policy for sustainable development. However, the conditions differ in the context of developing and developed countries. India has high-density planning and there exists scarce research on the applicability of compact city urban form for sustainable development. Method This study assesses the population density in central Indian urban areas. It divides the city into various segments and compares them with the prescribed density range (as per Indian standards). Further, it conducts a spatial assessment of facilities in the segments; and conducts a public opinion survey (480 respondents) to compare living environment and quality of life in each segment. Results It shows that density levels within the city vary considerably. Some NHs show scope for densification while some don’t. Therefore, a densification policy will have limited applications. Spatial assessment of facilities shows a lack of facilities in the outskirts. Public opinion reveals a good living environment and quality of life in most of the areas having access to facilities. Conclusions The results confirm that a uniform policy related to density cannot be applied to NHs in organically formed Indian cities. It confirms that an optimum density can result in better access to facilities. It also confirms no ill effects of high-density living in central Indian residents. Furthermore, this paper discusses the policy implications using the results of the study. This study can be a starting point for the formulation of density policies and SDG 11 goals for the sustainable Indian neighbourhoods.

The main objective of this study is to develop a method of identifying compact urban areas, which are characterized by a fully developed functional and spatial structure. Identification of such areas is a necessary element in studying the conditions and directions of spatial development in Poland. Moreover, the analysis of a development’s compactness and the availability of basic functions is a part of the model of urban policy promoting the concept of the compact city: well known in the world and only now being implemented in Poland. This paper uses GIS technology and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to propose a set of measurable criteria for the compactness of urban structures. Spatial analyses were performed considering the accessibility of selected objects and functions, the result of which is a series of maps presenting the categorization of the study area in terms of the level of development of a compact functional and spatial structure.

While the mix of residential, commercial and recreational use has been desirable for a compact city model, the mix of residential and industrial land use has long been regarded as being negative on the living environment. The peri-urban area of China is characterized by an intermingling of industries with residential land, which poses threats on a sustainable environment. In China, planners tend to criticize the mix of residential and industrial land, but lack a method to quantify the degree to which industrial and residential land is mixed, and are unable to clarify its environmental influence. This research develops an index method (MDI) to measure the mixed degree of residential and industrial land. By taking three peri-urban areas of China as cases, this research explores how this index can be applied to measure the spatial changes of land use mix, and explains the factors leading to this type of mix. It concludes with the implications of environmental impacts of MDI and its inclusion in land use planning and management.

The conventional wisdom that compact city fosters quality of place (QoP) has been contested in the literature, leaving the nexus between urban expansion and QoP something of a black-box. This paper investigates the magnitude of additional QoP achievements derived from increasing compactness for 362 Chinese cities. We propose that an expansion consists of a fundamental part (FLE) in consistency with fundamental factors such as demographic, economic and technical changes and a transitory part (TLE) mainly driven by policy shocks, while these two parts would affect QoP heterogeneously. We find that compact FLE has positive effects on QoP, which, however, may be attenuated by TLE. We also discern that positive effects of compactness on QoP are most pronounced in cities located in economically backward areas of the west; and only cities in this region have QoP positively related to compact TLE, indicating that even policy shocks could improve QoP here as long as they are promoting compactness. This research has theoretical contributions and implications for China’s urban polies that a move from sweeping directives on urban expansion to connecting with fundamental changes is more effective in fostering QoP.

This article examines the relationship between urban form and sustainable consumption practices across selected OECD metropolitan areas. Using resources available from the OECD database and the International Social Survey Programme, the research identifies factors associated with the stated frequency of making efforts to adopt a sustainable lifestyle across the selected areas. Results confirm that everyday sustainability practice is a function of personal factors, i.e. the socio-economic characteristics of the individuals and environmental concern, whereas the impacts of contextual factors related to urban form are modest. Residents living in compact developments are not more likely to drive less or reduce energy consumption as a means to mitigate their environmental impacts. The article discusses the implications for spatial planning and policy-making in terms of the primary effects of the built environment on sustainable consumption and the tension between urban density and greenspace provision.

Sustainable cities have, since the early 1990s, been the leading global paradigm of urbanism thanks to the different models of sustainable urban form proposed as new frameworks for the redesigning and restructuring of urban places to make urban living more sustainable. The compact city is the most preferred model of sustainable urbanism for responding to the challenges of sustainable development. However, despite the benefits claimed by the advocates of this model, its critics highlight a number of conflicts and contentions. This is coupled with several problems, issues, and challenges considering the very fragmented picture that arises of change on the ground in the face of urbanization. In this context, it has been suggested that the compact city needs to embrace and leverage what advanced ICT has to offer so as to improve, advance, and maintain its contribution to sustainability. With the above in regard, this paper provides a comprehensive state–of–the–art review of compact urbanism as a set of planning and development practices and strategies, focusing on the three dimensions of sustainability and the significant, yet untapped, potential of big data technology for enhancing such practices and strategies under what is labelled ‘data–driven smart sustainable urbanism.’ This paper identifies compactness, density, diversity, mixed land use, sustainable transportation, and green space as the prevalent design strategies of the compact city. At the heart of this model is the clear synergy between the underlying strategies in terms of their cooperation to produce combined effects greater than the sum of their separate effects as regards the tripartite value of sustainability. Indeed, this paper corroborates that the compact city is justified by its ability to contribute to the environmental, economic, and social goals of sustainability. Nevertheless, the economic goals seem to dominate over the environmental and social goals, notwithstanding the general claim about the three sustainability dimensions being equally important and mutually dependent. Further, this paper reveals that big data technology holds great potential for enhancing compact urbanism with respect to sustainability. This thorough review of and critique on the existing work on the compact city provides a reference for researchers and practitioners in related communities and the necessary material to inform these communities of the latest developments in the field of compact urbanism and its relation to data–driven smart urbanism. This work serves to inform various urban stakeholders about the benefits of data-driven smart solutions for advancing sustainability.

The compact city is advocated as a key strategy to establish sustainable cities. Compact city policy implies urban densification, sometimes with elimination of green space. Citizen’s valuable arguments in urban densification developments in green space are easily ignored, as is explored in a case study in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Place making decisions are more often legitimized with sustainability claims, and arguments from less convinced residents are denied or remain unexamined. About green space these also concern environmental qualities significant for long term sustainability of cities. This is illustrated by presenting empirical evidence about environmental education, an argument emerging from the explorative study. Environmental education should be seen as an important element in longterm sustainability, but the educational relevance of proximity of green space to schools had remained unknown. Empirical evidence of the negative effect of larger distances to green space on environmental education is presented in a geographical survey. The results suggest that close proximity to urban green space also reinforces fieldwork activities further away. As the validity of this argument was denied in the case study, this illustrates the need to establish frameworks that foster recognition and learning in open processes in urban densification.

The spatial and transport planning have geographical, economic and environmental constraints and are closely linked to the social and political conditions of each country as well as are well under the influence of globalization forces. This makes it all a highly complex issue and requires a better understanding of the background and products of policies and the interaction of a number of key determinant factors in policy-making and implementation. Within this large picture, the long-term review of different cases may provide useful discussions for the guidance and reinforcement of policy assessment. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to critically analyze the planning in the Netherlands through examining the issues of governing structure, spatial policy-making, and transport re-structuring. The leading characteristic of the Netherlands is the scarcity of usable land that has raised high and early awareness on spatial development issues and its connections with natural and environmental protection. The functioning of planning systems, and policy aims and measures within the planning documents since the end of the 1950s, have been reviewed and the key planning concepts have been examined by bringing in general and current discussions on the issues. The success and failure in past policy-making and implementations have been highlighted. The policies of the current spatial and transport planning documents have been evaluated by their main policy titles such as compact city, network of cities and sustainable mobility. There is a general consensus that the Netherlands has been developed into a well planned and organized society and has designed leading policies such as the ABC firm location policy. However, a number of issues such as increasing vehicle kilometres, urban decline and sprawl, and some gaps in policy making remain to be the critical planning challenges.

Residents’ views are pertinent in urban-park design and management, yet they are often ignored. Social-empirical studies could enhance socially relevant park design. As a compact city, Hong Kong's limited greenspaces are often too small, surrounded by incompatible activities, and fail to meet user demands and expectations. This study explores the response of citizens living in the crowded urban milieu to inadequate greenspace provision. A questionnaire survey gleaned opinion from residents in representative residential neighbourhoods in old city and new towns. Green sites are appreciated more for pragmatic microclimatic and amenity benefits than social and high-order environmental functions. The principal limitations are deficiency in sports facilities and greenery. Respondents favour more trees, dispersed seating design and large parks. The preferences are mainly related to age, income, education and retirement status. The high-density living milieu may have weakened attitude and perception towards urban nature. The findings could inform public policies and programmes on urban parks. They call for an institutional restructuring to facilitate active public engagement in greenspace planning and management.

Neighbourhood parks provide recreation opportunities and amenity to nearby residents and improve the quality of the environment and life. Their provision and protection could be facilitated by a deeper understanding of their multiple values. The hedonic pricing method, using statistical techniques to estimate the part of a price due to a particular attribute of a commodity, assessed the external effects of neighbourhood parks on the transaction price of high-rise private residential units in Hong Kong. The empirical results derived from 1471 transactions in a district indicated that neighbourhood parks could lift price by 16.88%, including 14.93% for availability and 1.95% for view. Comparing with other landscape elements, neighbourhood parks induced the heaviest investment intention in home-buying behaviour. Harbour view attracted a premium of 5.1%, but mountain view was surprisingly not welcomed. Street view, considered as unappealing, suppressed price. Residents were insensitive to building landscape due to its ubiquity in the compact city. The scarcity of neighbourhood parks in the city has pushed their hedonic value to an exceptionally high level, providing guidance to revamp the policies, planning and management of urban greenspaces in tandem with the sustainable city quest.

Policy prescription in most Western societies has increasingly favoured urban intensification policies in order to ensure a more sustainable development pattern. In particular, it is now widely felt that residential decisions concerning where to live profoundly affect, among other things, environmental pollution, resource use and land and habitat loss. Using the central area of Dublin city as a case study, this paper focuses specifically on garnering a better understanding of the residential behaviour of residents who have moved into new relatively high-density residential environments. This is a group who have made the choice to move into a relatively high-density urban area and hence it will be revealing to assess the motives, preferences and future intentions of this residential population. Findings suggest that the ultimate residential preference of the majority of residents in these areas is for lower density locations which call into question the long term success of urban intensification efforts. Results from a logit model of residential mobility indicate that stage in their life cycle, satisfaction with both the dwelling and the neighbourhood emerge as significant predictors of respondents intended future mobility patterns.

This paper is a review of the problems and contradictions inherent in land use policies aimed at delivering urban intensification in England. Urban intensification is seen in land use planning as a way of delivering sustainable development: it optimises the use of previously developed land, reduces travel demand and revitalises and repopulates cities. However, by drawing on existing research and data some contradictions and complexities within both the content of intensification policies and their means of implementation are revealed. The paper reviews the origins of, and theory behind, compact city policies. It then illustrates how urban intensification policies have been included in planning policy in England, and reflects on the divergence between theory and practice. The aim of the paper, in revealing weaknesses in intensification policies, is not to discredit the compact city idea, but to draw attention to potential policy failures in order to identify issues which need to be addressed by policy-makers, implementers and researchers.