Maths and myths behind a low carbon Auckland

In 2011, Auckland Council commissioned a report to identify how the City could reduce its Carbon emissions. The top 6 recommendations for the built environment included: compact growth, electric vehicles, smart grids, building integrated renewables and standards for both residential and commercial buildings.All these topics are subject to research at the School of Architecture and Planning, the University of Auckland. The research is empirically based and interrogates some fundamental assumptions that are currently held about the performance of the built environment. The research questions and challenges many issues that appear in policy and good practice documentation concerning compact built form, transport energy, energy standards and the productivity benefits of ‘green’ buildings.The maths involved in the research has revealed the myths that lie behind the commonly held assumptions of the relationship between built form, energy use and Carbon emissions. As Auckland strives towards sustainability, the importance of independent and robust research on these issues grows in importance. This presentation reveals that commonly held views should not necessarily become the basis of policy. The research presented here was carried out by Hugh Byrd, Anna Ho and Eva Nash at the School of Architecture and Planning. We are grateful for the support of the University for funding this presentation.