Urban form and sustainability: a scenario analysis for the city of Rome

This paper investigates the relation between sustainability and urban spatial forms (i.e. compact, sprawl, TOD). To this aim a scenario analysis tool, based on a system of Land-Use and Transport Interactions (LUTI) models has been designed and applied to the urban area of Rome, to understand the interdependence of key variables such as travel behaviour, transport supply, property values, jobs and residents choice location. A system of assessment indicators has furthermore been defined to systematically test and compare alternative scenarios of urban forms and to evaluate to what extent different locations and density distribution of activities achieve economic, environmental and social goals. Preliminary results show that at the city level different urban development forms have found to differ in their sustainability, and in particular the compact development appears to better performs in comparison to others forms of spatial development.