Conclusion

This project pioneers the inquiry in comparative low carbon city research by examining the characteristics of urban households, their built environment, and the spatial distribution of CO2 emissions in Bangalore and Xi’an. With the aid of statistical analysis, the research shows robust findings on determinants of urban household CO2 emissions in both cities. The results not only confirm that modernisation is a common factor which drives the increase of CO2 emissions, but also discover that the 1 km zone has emerged as an important planning unit in amending land-use schemes. Policy changes are required in order to promote low- or zero-carbon transport such as walking, cycling and public transportation. Functional separation of land-use zones needs to be reconsidered; incompatible land-uses need to be properly arranged but not at the expense of the formation of an improved land-use mix within the neighbourhood space.