Geography and Regional Planning

At present, energy efficiency represents one of the foremost challenges to achieve the transition toward a low-carbon society. Reducing energy use spans a broad range of technical issues and spatial scales: from building to districts, from cities to rural areas, and from energy power plants to electricity grids. In this frame, the challenge of enhancing energy efficiency can be understood as an extremely relevant topic for planning at the municipal level. Nevertheless, recent studies provide evidence that significant gaps exist in the enhancement of energy efficiency within municipal boundaries. The present research recognises that a comprehensive assessment of municipal energy performances is an essential starting point to facilitate local planning in enhancing energy efficiency. However, how can this challenge be translated into practice and applied to the implementation of local planning? As new models result from the transformation of existing ones, the development of a methodology associated with a case study in Portugal was deemed the most appropriate approach to contribute to knowledge in these fields. The primary objective of this study is to move toward more integrated process of planning for energy efficiency, supporting the definition of priorities and strategies to address energy saving improvements at municipal level. The assessment process involves a statistical analysis that using Geographical Information System, is combined and translated into spatial models to determine needs and set priorities within a Municipal Master Plan review. Based on this top-down approach, it becomes clear that energy efficiency is a cross-cutting issue interrelated with a blend of various disciplines: geography, spatial planning, urbanism, architecture, and civil engineering. The results enable us to understand why municipalities should be called upon to enhance energy efficiency by first looking at a comprehensive energy performance assessment. Embracing the whole municipal territory rather than only urban areas, is key to articulate energy efficiency and geographical, social, environmental and economic factors that are at the core of local planning

Among the different aspects that promote Sustainable Development, energy is a critical concern to meet the needs of present and future generations in a global-scale and long-term vision. Going beyond the emergence of local responses such as " Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings " or " Smart Cities " models, a more comprehensive view on sustainable energy planning, which involves urban and rural areas as an energetically balanced whole, has to be promoted. Central to this approach is the concept of transition which urges to be conceived in a broader and incremental change of society as pleaded by Rob Hopkins in Transition Towns. Spatial planning is able to manage the complex relationships between environment, economy and society and can represent the driver to implement integrated approaches and adaptive strategies towards the transition from " the actual fossil fuels system " to " a future net zero fossil fuels system ". This paper presents how such questions are being addressed and developed within the field of the doctoral thesis entitled " Smart Rural: energy efficiency and renewable energies in rural areas ". The interdisciplinary research design flow and expected results that support the Smart Rural model are presented in order to debate the thesis statement : " Can an integrated planning process for energy efficiency and renewable energies in rural areas, support the " Net-Zero Energy " balance at the municipal scale? "