Carbon Footprint Planning – The Case for Urban Infill

by Chris Wongsosaputro

Posted on 13 November, 2022 · Follow Chris on Twitter

Chris Wongsosaputro suggests how cities and towns can become more environmentally friendly through urban infill.

National and local governments can play their parts towards cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by working together with individuals to implement strategies such as urban infill.

Urban infill is defined as building more affordable houses, offices, factories, retail outlets and service centres in a compact manner. It is targeted towards the least densely populated, middle-income cities or towns with relatively lower carbon emissions. There is also some potential for business operations to be made more eco-friendly in such locations.

The Carbon Footprint Planning: Quantifying Local and State Mitigation Opportunities for 700 California Cities paper highlighted that urban infill, together with other strategies to reduce carbon consumption (e.g. boosting public transport usage) can contribute c.30% of all the potential carbon footprint reduction by 2030.

Deep Diving Into What Urban Infill Looks Like in Practical Terms

Urban infill is done in a compact manner to enable convenient commutes on foot or bicycle between home and work or shops, reducing reliance on private transport. Facilitating urban infill can involve using abandoned or untouched land to maximise land usage. This approach marks a clear break from sprawl constructions stretching into other suburbs or towns.

In order for urban infill to succeed, there is a need for national and local government involvement via monetary means and regulatory changes. For instance, the Government can provide financial support to build more environmentally friendly, accessible transport means including foot pathways, cycle lanes and public transport. The Government can further support urban infill by improving parking regulations flexibility, tightening anti-displacement laws and boosting affordable housing in infill zones. The latter can be realised via rebates or direct funding such as giving a higher share of property tax income to infill neighbourhoods.

Urban infill measures can be accompanied by complementary measures such as increased uptake of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources outlined above.

Urban Infill and Its Benefits Including Potential Reduction in GHG Emissions

One of the main benefits of urban infill is a decrease in travel distance and thus GHG emissions from traffic.

The benefits can be further bucketed into:

Environmental: Relates to the conservation of picturesque sceneries, farmlands and other essential landscapes, all of which are left untouched by urban infill developments. Moreover, urban infill enables walkable or cyclable commutes that decrease usage of vehicular transport and thus GHG emissions.
Economic (uplifts to California’s yearly economic growth quantified as exceeding $800 million vis-à-vis status quo by UC Berkeley):
- Facilitates economies of scale with current and new infrastructure such as parks and public services to be built and used by a higher population density. Public transport can be self-sufficient with adequate usage volume, enabling future investments to be made to enhance the transport networks
- Urban infill also allows for joint usage of assets (e.g. roofs) and decreases the volume of infrastructure networks required (e.g. pipes), thereby generating cost efficiencies with less infrastructure needed
- Furthermore, the construction of urban infill areas creates jobs, (affordable) homes and retail zones for a sufficient population mass
- Typical families benefit from decreased expenditures via lower commuting and utility costs
Historic preservation: Achieved via promoting the use of historic sites as operational and beautiful buildings.

A World Bank study has quantified the impacts on GHG emission reductions from urban infill as being higher than a baseline scenario of sprawl developments – the range varies from 8.4% in Mexico City, Mexico to 39% in Chongqing, China. The benefits apply for both higher and lower-income families who benefit from residing in affordable urban infill zones.

In contrast, sprawl development necessitates a further, costlier commute and segments natural habitats which can harm the wildlife.

Conclusion

Cities and towns can play their part in lowering GHG emissions by proactively planning journeys to be carbon friendly. Urban infill provides one such strategy which can be combined with other measures including boosting renewable energy usage.

While urban infill can contribute towards making population centres more environmentally sustainable, there is a need to communicate its benefits to the existing local population. Examples include the possibility of further economic growth and investment into their cities or towns, thereby generating more jobs.

Urban infill also needs to be accompanied with investments into public services including hospitals and schools. Doing so will assure locals that the quality of public services such as hospitals and schools will not deteriorate with population growth.

Chris is a former Co-Chair of the Young Fabians Economy & Finance Network. He currently works as Strategy Consultant. Chris is writing this article in his personal capacity and all views expressed are his own.

This article has been written based on research so Chris would welcome further dialogue with members and other interested parties on this topic.

Sources and Suggested Further Readings:

Jones, Christopher M., Wheeler, Stephen M., Kammen, Daniel M., Carbon Footprint Planning: Quantifying Local and State Mitigation Opportunities for 700 California Cities, 24 April 2018

Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, Infill Development Addresses Climate Change: https://nvaha.org/infill-development-addresses-climate-change/fbclid=IwAR30lbHmECLjaT2iUgtb98SGXDcj_jDQMFE1aYDpGohzc4lFd5rzg4HzzRA#:~:text=%E2%80%9CInfill%E2%80%9D%20is%20the%20development%20of,of%20life%20and%20economic%20benefits, 15 September 2021

UCLA / UC Berkeley Schools of Law, Removing the Roadblocks: How to Make Sustainable Development Happen Now, http://www.climatepolicysolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Encouraging-Infill-Deevlopment-Aug-2009.pdf, August 2009

Pinsker, Matthew, Is Urban Infill a Sustainable Solution to Development?: https://santacruzarchitect.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/is-urban-infill-a-sustainable-solution-to-development/?fbclid=IwAR1k8bnpSBICSv6tmO5_7cE-zMbFNRLs0QNC3I597LvpKJV2VbnCghpIYSY, 14 Apr 2017

Subin, Zack and Siegel, Zoe, Infill housing is critical for a healthy region and climate, https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Infill-housing-is-critical-for-a-healthy-region-15812757.php?fbclid=IwAR1k8bnpSBICSv6tmO5_7cE-zMbFNRLs0QNC3I597LvpKJV2VbnCghpIYSY, 18 December 2020

ECO San Diego, How Urban Infill Can Help Make San Diego Eco-Friendly, https://sandiegoeco.org/urban-infill/?fbclid=IwAR0s4sz_GK_ih-TIIWrCN7sYmrqMHEyd0tESKZmkZa8cBQqnrlcc27OAzJk

Nathaniel Decker, Carol Galante, Karen Chapple, Amy Martin, Ethan N. Elkind & Marilee Hanson, Right Type, Right Place: Assessing the Environmental and Economic Impacts of Infill Residential Development through 2030, https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/research/land-use/right-type-right-place/, March 2017

Urban Elegance Homes, Infill Design Concepts: https://www.urbanelegancehomes.com/infill-conecepts?fbclid=IwAR1k8bnpSBICSv6tmO5_7cE-zMbFNRLs0QNC3I597LvpKJV2VbnCghpIYSY

Hendy, Alex, To Understand Demolition and Density, Look East: https://www.pricedout.org.uk/to-understand-demolition-and-density-look-east/?fbclid=IwAR07eQZ-p4D4YZPNYyBq3_exzopCwizI2nvBSnZhbYHf_ndW1hSmBzk9Ou0, 27 August 2022

Chandan Deuskar, Daniel Hoornweg, Alexandrina Platonova-Oquab, Apoorva Narayan Shenvi, and the World Bank Gap Fund Team, Primer On Urban Form and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: City Climate Finance Gap Fund – Technical Note #3: https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/d28cb017b4fe2e1f626315a36e875daa-0200022021/original/Gap-Fund-Technical-Note-3-Urban-Form-and-GHGs.pdf?fbclid=IwAR30lbHmECLjaT2iUgtb98SGXDcj_jDQMFE1aYDpGohzc4lFd5rzg4HzzRA, 14 Sep 2021

ECO San Diego, How Urban Infill Can Help Make San Diego Eco-Friendly, https://sandiegoeco.org/urban-infill/?fbclid=IwAR0s4sz_GK_ih-TIIWrCN7sYmrqMHEyd0tESKZmkZa8cBQqnrlcc27OAzJk

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Chris Wongsosaputro published this page in Blog 2022-11-13 16:11:23 +0000