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Right-Sizing Cities for Maximum Power: Urban Form Parameters for New York City and the Greater Philadelphia Region

Author

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  • Jae Min Lee

    (School of Architecture, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Korea)

  • William Braham

    (Department of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA)

Abstract

This paper examines the urban form parameters in theories and ideas related to the urbanizing world. Adopting emergy (spelled with an “m”) synthesis, we studied New York City and the Greater Philadelphia region to determine the appropriate urban form, including building height, development density, bulkiness, and transportation. The European and North American mid-rise urban block is an effective settlement type for reducing per capita emergy in construction and building operations. Buildings over 40 stories with a development density exceeding a floor area ratio of 5 tend to show higher emergy investments per person. Large and bulky buildings with low surface-area-to-volume ratios that reside on the periphery of cities consume a significant amount of energy due to conditioning building space and the increased transportation needs for commuters.

Suggested Citation

  • Jae Min Lee & William Braham, 2019. "Right-Sizing Cities for Maximum Power: Urban Form Parameters for New York City and the Greater Philadelphia Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:8:p:2352-:d:224306
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Frans M. Dieleman & Martin Dijst & Guillaume Burghouwt, 2002. "Urban Form and Travel Behaviour: Micro-level Household Attributes and Residential Context," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(3), pages 507-527, March.
    2. Reid Ewing & Fang Rong, 2008. "The impact of urban form on U.S. residential energy use," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 1-30, January.
    3. Lee, Jae Min & Braham, William W., 2017. "Building emergy analysis of Manhattan: Density parameters for high-density and high-rise developments," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 363(C), pages 157-171.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Bergquist & Daniela Garcia-Caro & Sofie Joosse & Madeleine Granvik & Felix Peniche, 2020. "The Sustainability of Living in a “Green” Urban District: An Emergy Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Teresa Santos & Raquel Deus & Jorge Rocha & José António Tenedório, 2021. "Assessing Sustainable Urban Development Trends in a Dynamic Tourist Coastal Area Using 3D Spatial Indicators," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    3. Ling Yang & Lin Wang, 2022. "An Improved Emergy Analysis of the Environmental and Economic Benefits of Reclaimed Water Reuse System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-12, April.

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