Central to the Smart Growth movement is that compact development reduces vehicle miles traveled, carbon emissions, and water use. Empirical efforts to evaluate compact development have examined residential densities but have not distinguished decreasing lot sizes from multifamily apartments as mechanisms for compact development. Efforts to link design features to water use have emphasized single-family at the expense of multifamily housing. This study isolates the determinants of water use in large (more than fifty units) apartment complexes in the city of Tempe, Arizona. In July 2007, per bedroom water use increased with pool area, dishwashers, and in-unit laundry facilities. We are able to explain nearly 50 percent of the variation in water demand with these variables. These results inform public policy for reducing water use in multifamily housing structures, suggesting strategies to construct and market “green” apartment units.
智慧型成长运动的核心, 在于减低车辆行驶里程、碳排放以及用水的紧凑发展。评估紧凑发展的经验性努力, 已检视了居住的密度, 但却尚未指认出多户家庭公寓减少中的基地面积, 做为紧凑发展的机制。连结设计特点与用水的努力, 往往强调单一家户住宅, 而忽略了多户家庭住宅。本研究独立出亚历桑纳州坦普市中的大型集合公寓 (超过五十个单位) 的用水决定因素。在2007年七月, 平均每一卧房的用水, 随着泳池、洗碗机和随房附带的洗衣设施而增加。我们得以解释这些有关用水需求的变项中, 将近百分之五十的变异。这些研究结果告知并影响了减少多户家庭住宅结构中用水的公共政策, 指出打造、行销“环保绿色”公寓单元的策略。
Un elemento medular del movimiento Crecimiento Inteligente [Smart Growth] es la idea de que el desarrollo compacto disminuye el kilometraje de recorrido del vehículo, las emisiones de carbono y el uso de agua. Los esfuerzos empíricos para evaluar el desarrollo compacto se han concentrado en examinar las densidades residenciales, aunque sin distinguir la reducción del tamaño de los lotes de edificios de apartamentos multifamiliares como mecanismo para el desarrollo compacto. Los esfuerzos para ligar rasgos de diseño con el uso del agua han hecho énfasis sobre unidades unifamiliares a expensas de la vivienda multifamiliar. Este estudio aisla los determinantes del uso de agua en complejos grandes de apartamentos (más de cincuenta unidades) de la ciudad de Tempe, Arizona. En julio de 2007, el uso de agua por dormitorio se incrementó con el del área de piscina, lavaplatos y facilidades de lavandería dentro de la unidad. Nosotros estamos en capacidad de explicar cerca del 50 por ciento de la variación en la demanda de agua con estas variables. Estos resultados dan cuenta de las políticas públicas de reducir el consumo de agua en estructuras residenciales multifamiliares, sugiriendo estrategias para construir y comercializar unidades de apartamentos “verdes.”
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Notes on contributors
Elizabeth A. Wentz
ELIZABETH A. WENTZ is a Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and the GeoDa Center at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–5302. E-mail: wentz@asu.edu. Her research interests include geographic information systems (GIS), spatial analysis, residential water demand, and urban remote sensing.Angela J. Wills
ANGELA J. WILLS is a GIS analyst in the private sector. E-mail: willsangela@gmail.com. Her research interests are in GIS and statistical analysis.Won Kyung Kim
WON KYUNG KIM is a visiting scholar in the Department of Geography at Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306. E-mail: wkim2@fsu.edu. His research interests are identifying the physical and social characteristics of urban environment and examining the impacts of green spaces and urban vegetation on the urban environment using remote sensing and GIS.Soe W. Myint
SOE W. MYINT is an Associate Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–5302. E-mail: soe.myint@asu.edu. His research interests are in remote sensing, land use land cover change and prediction, and urban environmental modeling, including urban water use and climate analysis.Patricia Gober
PATRICIA GOBER is Professor in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B8, and Research Scientist in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 87287–5203. E-mail: patricia.gober@usask.ca. She was founding director of the NSF-funded Decision Center for a Desert City at Arizona State University. Her research interests include water resources management, decision making under uncertainty, and urban climate adaptation. She is especially interested in the use of science and visualization for decision making.Robert C. Balling
ROBERT C. BALLING, JR. is a Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–5302. E-mail: robert.balling@asu.edu. His research interests include climatology, spatial analysis, and GIS.
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