Project: Urban form, location choice and transport solutions for low-carbon cities

We study (i) the interactions between urban form, energy use and emissions by households and firms, and (ii) how the design of policies can contribute to social welfare and compliance with local air quality standards, while speeding up the transition towards prosperous low-carbon cities. A central theme throughout this project is the role of spatial structure in defining sustainable and socially inclusive cities. In European economies increasing city size and urban density tend to reduce households’ average energy consumption. But increasing population density also tends to reduce local air quality. We analyse and contribute the management of this trade-off, by developing (i) surveys to study (environmental) preferences and (location) behaviour of firms and households in four different European cities – Amsterdam, Istanbul, Gothenburg, Barcelona; (ii) a spatial general equilibrium model for policy simulations in cities across Europe. In doing so, we take into account that firms and households sort themselves across space, also in response to environmental and transport policies. Our approach is bottom-up and demand driven by involving city governance structures from the outset. We aim to support policy makers in their design of integrated local urban energy and transport systems, assessing the combined effect on economic welfare.

Acronym	BREATHE (Reference Number: 5631628)
Project Topic	Topic 2. Smart tools and services for integrated urban energy and transport systems
Network	ENSCC
Call	ERA-NET Cofund Smart Cities and Communities (ENSCC) - Joint Call for Proposals

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
	City of Gothenburg	Partner	Sweden
6154514	Cylstat Asesoramiento Estadístico SL	Partner	Spain
5634043	Sabanci University	Partner	Türkiye
5633545	University of Gothenburg - University of Gothenburg	Partner	Sweden
5631628	VU University Amsterdam - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration	Coordinator	Netherlands