- The Canadian Urban Archetypes Project: a tool facilitating the integration of energy-related information into urban planning decision making   169 kb by    Webster, Jessica | jessica.webster@nrcan.gc.ca    Short Outline The Canadian Urban Archetypes Project provides communities seeking to reduce their energy footprint with a library of case studies examining neighbourhood energy consumption in a whole systems perspective. Abstract The Canadian Urban Archetypes project is building a reference tool that supports urban planning decision making in communities working towards a reduced energy footprint. An urban archetype is a whole systems energy portrait of a neighbourhood, a synthesis of its land use and physical infrastructure, reported resident lifestyle patterns and associated energy consumption. When completed, the library of urban archetypes will cover approximately 15 Canadian communities representing a variety of contexts, with around 60 individual neighbourhoods having been studied in depth. The project is being conducted by the CANMET Energy Technology Centre (CETC) within Natural Resources Canada, the Canadian Federal Government department responsible for the sustainable development of Canada’s natural resources. The premise of the Urban Archetypes project is that urban form, the lifestyle patterns of residents and energy consumption are inextricably linked. Urban planning decisions such as density, the mix of uses, and transit infrastructure play a significant role in the overall energy demand of a community. Energy has not traditionally been a factor in urban planning decision making in Canada. Although it is intuitive that different types of urban form result in different types and volumes of energy consumption by residents, there is little Canadian research quantifying these relationships. With an increasing awareness of the need to both mitigate and adapt to climate change, there is demand from municipalities for tools that facilitate the integration of energy-related information into decision-making. In response to this need, CETC is developing a library of Urban Archetypes to be used as a reference tool used by municipalities, urban planners and developers to better understand the energy implications of different development patterns. This paper discusses research design, data collection, analysis, outputs and applications for decision making, illustrated with examples from selected participating communities. Keywords community energy planning, energy indicators, urban archetypes, reference tool Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2007: Urban Trialogues   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper