California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE)

The Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program of the California Energy Commission has recognized the importance of sustainable communities to improving the efficiency, cost, and social and environmental impacts of energy use in California.In order for sustainable communities research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) funded by the PIER program to be effective, it is important to understand and optimize the energy-related aspects of land use planning and community design. In this white paper, a research teamfrom the UCLA Institute of the Environment identifies a unifying framework for sustainable communities researchby the PIER Program that explicitly considers sustainability with respect to energy production and use in California communities. In this context, a sustainable community is one that minimizes throughputs of energy and materials through efficient and socially sensitive production, distribution, use, and reuse of those materials and energy. The research team identifies an urban metabolism framework as the most effective framework to meet the criteria and needs of the PIER Program. Ideally, this framework for sustainable communities will guide and integrate research efforts among the PIER Program’s seven subject areas so that sustainable communities RD&D funded by the PIER Program can provide optimal benefits to California.