Estimating the relationship between urban forms and energy consumption: A case study in the Pearl River Delta, 2005-2008

Urban form, which refers to the spatial configuration of urban land use within a metropolitan area, has profound influences on energy consumption of a city. Landscape metrics are frequently used to quantify urban land use patterns, but there are limited studies reporting the implications of different urban land use patterns on energy consumption. In this study, we attempt to empirically estimate the relationships between urban land use patterns and energy consumption. Five cities of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in south China, namely Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen, Foshan and Zhongshan, are selected as the study areas. PRD is becoming an emerging megalopolis and important manufacturing base in the world. However, the rapid and unregulated urbanization process as well as the extensive and inefficient use of energy has caused a series of problems. In this study, remote sensing images during 2005-2008 were used to reveal the dynamic distribution of urban land use based on land use classification. The urban land use patterns were then quantified using a set of landscape metrics, which further serve as explanatory variables in the estimation. The panel data analysis is implemented to estimate the relationship between urban land use patterns and energy consumption. Briefly, it is found that: (1) Urban size is positively correlated with energy consumption; (2) fragmentation/irregularity of urban land use patterns is positively correlated with energy consumption; (3) The dominance of the largest urban patch is negatively correlated with energy consumption.