Dense Development Saves Energy

The average urban household in the U.S. uses 320 million Btus (338,000 MJ) of energy each year, compared to 440 million Btus (464,000 MJ) for the average suburban household, according to John Holtzclaw of the Sierra Club and Jennifer Henry of the U.S. Green Building Council. The pair’s findings, presented during the Congress for the New Urbanism conference, were published in the June 2005 issue of

New Urban News. “New Urbanism is the magic that can bring about a substantial reduction in the driving that we do,” says Holtzclaw. Just increasing the housing density from three to six units per acre (7 to 15 units per hectare) saves more energy per household than Energy Star^®, according to the article.