Conceptualising urban density, energy demand and social practice

摘要: In urban studies and in energy policy there is much debate about the relationship between demand density of residential areas, measured units such as those population/ha or population/km2. A different approach presented this paper. Rather than evaluating relative merits compact sprawling forms, focus on spatial configuration infrastructures, appliances systems provision which city life depends. An interview-based study households living same extremely ‘dense’ neighbourhood Hanoi, Vietnam, shows how practices cooling, laundering cooking (and demands associated with these practices) are shaped by material arrangements that exist within home also stretch far beyond. The conclusion supply constituted across multiple scales has practical implications for design, relation defined understood. Practice relevance Energy a consequence social distributed organised space time. By contrast, metrics can be counter-productive tend to obscure potentially crucial questions regarding constitution transformation demand. conceptualise relations at scales: from layout more extensive infrastructures provision. ideas influence debates design focusing attention spaces they actually used, accommodate enable.