Urban density has received a lot of praise in recent years. If done properly, it can increase economic output, per capita productivity and disposable income, as well as improve physical and mental health.

Urbanists have also made the argument is that it has the potential to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, making it an important tool in the fight against climate change, according to an article in Vox. 

And now they have the scientific evidence to back them up. In a recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of nine researchers has shown that “urban density is about as effective as efficiency improvements for energy savings in building heating and cooling”. 

Across all their urban density scenarios, the researchers showed that advanced efficiency technologies result in about 7 exajoules per year less energy use for heating and cooling in 2050. In comparison, the difference between the high and low urban density scenarios is about 8 to 9 exajoules in 2050.

Combining both gives the best results: high urban density with advanced efficiency will result in just below 45 exajoules less energy use in 2050. And if all of the regions around the world adopt a compact urban development trajectory while simultaneously investing in advanced efficiency, cumulative savings in building energy use would be about 300 exajoules.