In this paper I examine the extent to which economic growth and housing stock growth have been decoupled from negative environmental impacts over the latest two decades in the metropolitan areas of Hangzhou (China) and Copenhagen (Denmark). Research results show that housing stock growth and economic growth have been, at best, weakly decoupled from environment impacts, implying that the goal of sustainable housing development has not been fulfilled by the decoupling strategies. On the basis of this, constraints to decoupling strategies for housing sustainable development are discussed, which indicates a long-term incompatibility between housing stock growth and environmental sustainability. Arguably, sustainable housing development should be pursued by nongrowth in the housing stock in affluent countries in order to reduce the environmental impacts from housing consumption to a sustainable level. The visions for a nongrowth housing stock in both city regions are imagined in terms of potential risks and countermeasures.
Azar C, Holmberg J, Karlsson S, 2002, “Decoupling: Past Trends and Prospects for the Future”, report of Environmental Advisory Council, Stockholm.
3.
BarryJPatersonM“The British state and the environment: New Labour's ecological modernisation strategy”. International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development20032: 237–249.
4.
CaiW GWuYZhongYRenH“China building energy consumption: situation, challenges and corresponding measures”. Energy Policy200937: 2054–2059.
5.
China Energy Statistical Yearbook, 2009 (China Statistics Press, Beijing).
JacksonT (2009) Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet, London: Earthscan.
20.
KnudstrupMHansenH T RBrunsgaardC“Approaches to the design of sustainable housing with low CO2 emission in Denmark”. Renewable Energy200934: 2007–2015.
21.
MarshRLarsenV GKraghM“Housing and energy in Denmark: past, present, and future challenges”. Building Research and Information201038: 92–106.
22.
NæssP“Urban planning and sustainable development”. European Planning Studies20019: 503–524.
23.
NæssP (2006a) Urban Structure Matters: Residential Location, Car Dependence and Travel Behaviour, London: Routledge.
24.
NæssP“Accessibility, activity participation and location of activities: exploring the links between residential location and travel behaviour”. Urban Studies2006b43: 627–652.
25.
NæssP“Residential location, travel and energy use: the case of Hangzhou Metropolitan Area”. Journal of Transport and Land Use20103: 27–59.
26.
NewmanP W GKenworthyJ R (1999) Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence, Washington, DC: Island Press.
27.
OECD. Indicators to Measure Decoupling of Environmental Pressure from Economic Growth2002Paris.
28.
OwenD. The Conundrum: How Trying to Save the Planet Is Making Our Climate Problems Worse2012London: Short Books.
29.
QiuB“Compactness and diversity: the core idea of sustainable urban development in China. City Planning Review200611: 18–24. (in Chinese).
30.
SchwanenTDielemanF MDijstM“Travel behaviour in Dutch monocentric and policentri urban systems”. Journal of Transport Geography20019: 173–186.
SorrelSDimitropoulosJSommervilleM“Empirical estimates of the direct rebound effect: a review”. Energy Policy200937: 1356–1371.
33.
Spatial Data Library, 2009, “Calculations of the growth in urbanized land with Copenhagen Metropolitan Area 1999-2008”, Aalborg University, Aalborg Statistics Denmark, various years, http://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1017.
34.
SteadDMarshallS“The relationships between urban form and travel patterns: an international review and evaluation”. European Journal of Transport Infrastructure Research20011: 113–141.
35.
TapioP“Towards a theory of decoupling: degrees of decoupling in the EU and the case of road traffic in Finland between 1970 and 2001”. Transport Policy200512: 137–151.
36.
VestergaardHDolingJElsingaM“Single-family detached housing: a branch of paradise or a problem? “. Home Ownership: Getting In, Getting From, Getting Out. Part II2006Amsterdam: IOS Press, pp. 75–92.
37.
WangWJinJXiaoZShiT“The characteristics of urban expansion and its driving forces analysis based on remote sensed data and GIS: a case of Hangzhou city from 1991 to 2008”. Geographical Research200928: 685–695. (in Chinese).
38.
WangYPFinerC J“Progress and problems of urban housing reform”. in Social Policy Reform in China: Views from Home and Abroad2003Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate, pp. 177–190.
39.
WCED. Our Common Future1987Oxford: Oxford University Press.
40.
XueJNæssPYaoYLiF“The challenge of sustainable mobility in urban planning and development: a comparative study of the Copenhagen and Hangzhou metropolitan areas”. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development20113: 185–206.
41.
ZegrasC“The built environment and motor vehicle ownership and use: evidence from Santiago de Chile”. Urban Studies201047: 1793–1817.
42.
ZhuYLinB“Sustainable housing and urban construction in China”. Energy and Buildings200436: 1287–1297.
