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Urban density is a term used in urban planning and urban design to refer to the number of people inhabiting a given urbanized area. As such it is to be distinguished from other measures of population density. Urban density is considered an important factor in understanding how cities function. Research related to urban density occurs across diverse areas, including economics, health, innovation, psychology and geography as well as sustainability.

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Urban density and sustainability

Major cities - per capita petrol use vs. population density1

It is commonly asserted that higher density cities are more sustainable than low density cities. Much planning theory, particularly in North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand has been developed premised on raising urban densities, such as New Urbanism, Transit-oriented development, and Smart growth.

However, the link between urban density and aspects of sustainability remains a contested area of planning theory. Many experts on sustainable urbanism argue that low-density, dispersed cities are unsustainable as they are automobile dependent. Others counter that raising densities results in more expensive real estate, greater road congestion and more air pollution. At a broader level though, there is evidence to indicate a strong correlation between the total energy consumption of a city and its overall urban density, i.e. the lower the density, the more energy consumed.2 However, there is an even stronger negative correlation between car use and fuel price,citation needed i.e. the higher the price of fuel, the lower the car use.

Measuring urban density

Urban density is a very specific measurement of the population of an urbanized area, excluding non-urban land-uses. Non-urban uses include regional open space, agriculture and water-bodies.

There are a variety of other ways of measuring the density of urban areas:

  • Floor area ratio - the total floor area of buildings divided by land area of the lot they are built on
  • Residential density - the number of dwelling units in any given area
  • Population density - the number of people in any given area
  • employment density - the number of jobs in any given area
  • Gross density - any density figure for a given area of land that includes uses not necessarily directly relevant to the figure (usually roads and other transport infrastructure)
  • Net density - a density figure for a given area of land that excludes land not directly related to the figure.


See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Newman & Kenworth 1989, Andrew White Associates, DETR
  2. ^ Newman, Peter; Jeffrey R. Kenworthy (1999). Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence, Island Press. ISBN 1559636602. 

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