Commuting and energy consumption: toward an equitable transportation policy

• Estimation of commute-related energy consumption patterns in Southern California.
• Energy consumption patterns by socioeconomic and geographic location of commuters.
• Relationship between energy consumption, urban form, and social geography.
• Importance of social geography in developing energy-related public policies.

Like other major metropolitan areas, the urban complex that extends from Los Angeles to Orange County faces numerous transportation challenges. Daily traffic congestion, reduced productivity and loss of income, air pollution, environmental degradation and significant energy consumption are only a few outcomes of the millions of miles travelled every day on the region’s highways and streets. An important response to this significant urban challenge has been the desire for further expansion of an efficient public transportation network and increasing densities in particular areas within the larger metropolitan region. In this paper, we estimate the current energy consumption patterns in various communities, arguing that policy attempts to achieve higher density and better jobs-housing balance should fully consider the social geography of our metropolitan areas and their close relationship with energy consumption patterns.