Thread by @aldatweets

Systematic carbon footprint analysis shows how consumption practices are socially and spatially structured. Slashing emissions isn't about individuals' choices, it's about public policy choices.

I wrote a policy brief for @KleinmanEnergy
kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/policy-digests…

Typically, we measure emissions that occur within a geographic boundary. But consumption-based accounting tells a different story: that affluent communities depend heavily on polluting activity that occurs elsewhere.

The debate about urban density—which always seeks more density in even the most built-up urban areas, as if density and reduced direct emissions had a linear relationship—is wrong-headed.

Protecting those neighborhoods that do have medium density from gentrification, and increasing density in areas that are less dense, would reduce emissions and provide fair, broad access to low-carbon, energy-efficient urban living.

Compared to the enormous statistical efforts underway to support economic analysis, or even the significant efforts developed by public health researchers, the social science of greenhouse gas emissions drivers is in its infancy.

Overall, this Policy Brief argues that we need better research (and yes, better maps and data) on carbon, inequalities, and the built environment. For more on the broader project that this Polic Brief comes out of, check out (SC)2’s website
web.sas.upenn.edu/sociospatialcl…