School commuting: the relationship between energy consumption and urban form

A large amount of research in the past has focused on the relationships between the energy consumption for home-to-work travel and land-use patterns. However, little is known about children’s mobility. This paper analyses the energy consumption, travel distances and mode choices for school commuting based on two decennial surveys in Belgium. The results highlight the following: (1) mobility behaviours have evolved drastically over the past decades for school commuting, an evolution that cannot be entirely related to land-use variables, (2) the energy consumption for school commuting is strongly dependent upon the school level, and (3) the links between land-use patterns and energy consumption for school commuting are different than those highlighted within the literature between urban forms and home-to-work commutes. The concentration of secondary schools and tertiary institutions in urban centres induces higher energy consumption rates, whereas the decentralisation of nursery and primary schools across the entire territory leads to very low local energy consumption and increased walking and cycling. These results provide a better understanding of school commuting within the European context and could guide future policies focused on transport energy consumption at the local scale.

► Little is known about energy consumption for school commuting, namely in Europe.
► Energy consumption for school commuting strongly depends upon the school level.
► Urban form is an influencing factor, amongst other factors.
► Links between energy consumption and urban form are specific to school commuting.
► Children mobility behaviours have evolved drastically over the past decades.