That whole quote taken from the conference was very confusing to me:
"In the United States, for example, 80% of the population lives in cities. Their buildings, transportation and urban infrastructure account for 80% of U.S. energy consumption, and 70% of that amount is determined by how and where Americans design their neighborhoods. Low-density development in the U.S. consumes 85% more energy, 70 times more water, 50 times more lumber and 40 times more land than higher-density development of the same square footage.

Note the first part "In the United States, for example, 80% of the population lives in cities. Their buildings, transportation and urban infrastructure account for 80% of U.S. energy consumption..." Now, as the quote goes on to say " Low-density development in the U.S. consumes 85% more energy", would this not mean that as a percent of their population, city dwellers would consume far less than the one to one match of their poplulation by percent that is the 80% of America living in the city would not consume the full 80% percent of America's energy? In fact, if less dense dwelling folks consumed 85% more, then most at least half of all energy would be consumed by the percent living in less densely poplulated areas (!?) (Unless of course much of the "less dense" areas are being incorporated into the "city", thus confusing an already confused count)

The whole advantage of massively increased population density as somehow being of advantage in reducing fossil fuel consumption needs a great deal more study. There are the Kunstler types who hated the suburban development pattern to the core of their being long before the "peak" issue was even thought of, and much of what passes for an "energy" discussion is actually an aesthetic preference debate. There are those who hate the city and those who hate the suburbs and rural living. In many cases their conjecture begins from the point of their hatred for these living arrangements and NOT from any factually demonstrated proof of energy consumption per se, given the wide variety of living/consumptive arrangements in both town and country.

Roger Conner Jr.
Remember, we are only one cubic mile from freedom.