Macroscopic Analysis of Transportation Energy Consumption and Implication to China Urban Planning and Development

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between transportation energy consumption and urban form, transportation system to explore the main factors which effect urban transportation energy consumption. The data come from 87 cities in North America, Oceania, Western Europe, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis methods are applied. We found that urban density is not the only important factor which effect urban transportation energy consumption. The factors which impact on the private car and public transport energy consumption are different. With the result of cluster analysis, 87 international cities can be divided into three categories and six sub-categories by transportation energy consumption, urban form and transportation structure. And the higher level of urban economic development, the more energy consumption, but the economic development itself is not the determined factor. From the analyzing, we can learn some planning implications concerned with Chinese cities under the fast motorization and urbanization process. Transport modal shifting away from private car will be very important to reduce energy consumption, so that keeping the higher no-motorized modal split is crucial for the future of Chinese city.