Urban design and energy utilization: A comparative analysis of soviet practice

The consumption of energy by urban populations depends in part upon the efficiency of the process used to provide residential, commercial, and industrial heat. This paper explores the systemic determinants of the adoption of district heating and co-generation, evaluates the extent of resulting energy savings, and appraises USSR practice. Differences between economic systems in the specification of property rights cause differences in both transaction costs and the treatment of externalities and partially explain the greater utilization of district heating and co-generation in planned economies. Institutional changes required in market economies to adopt this urban-design strategy are suggested.