Sustainability and urban density a decision based design approach

This paper concerns the definition, construction and application of a decision based design model which able the integration of the allocation of a variety of urban land uses with the distribution of different urban densities, in particular of residential urban areas. Urban planning is, among others things about the spatial distribution of human activities and their physical facilities like buildings, roads, green areas etc. in amount, place and time over a well-defined area. Today, sustainable urban development and sustainability in urban areas are important issues in urban planning. The aspects related to these issues have to be taken in account when developing urban areas. One of these aspects is urban density. Nowadays, it is generally assumed (and accepted) that urban density is related to sustainability. New urban planning approaches, loosely based around new urbanism, are successfully reducing environmental impacts by altering the built environment to create and preserve sustainable cities which support sustainable transport. Residents in compact urban neighborhoods drive fewer miles, and have significantly lower environmental impacts across a range of measures, compared with those living in sprawling suburbs.