Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale (DICEA)
Doi
Abstract
The relationship between cities and energy consumption
has been of great interest for the scientific community
for over twenty years. Most of the energy consumption,
indeed, occurs in cities because of the high
concentration of human activities. Thus, cities are
responsible for a big share of carbon dioxide emissions
(CO2). However, the debate on this topic is still open,
mainly because of the heterogeneity of published
studies in the selection, definition and measurement of
the urban features influencing energy consumption and
CO2 emissions, as well as in the choice of the energy
sectors to be considered, in the territorial scale of
analysis, and in the geographical distribution of the
sample. Therefore, the goal of this research is to
systematize and compare the approach, methodology
and results of the relevant literature on the relationship
between cities and energy consumption over the last
twenty years. Furthermore, this critical review identifies
the knowledge gap between what is known and what is
still under debate and, based on that, it proposes a
conceptual framework that will help to outline a new
direction for future research and support local policy
makers in the definition of strategies and actions that
can effectively reduce urban energy use and CO2
emissions