摘要：Urban structure influences directly or indirectly the majority of all green house gas (GHG)
emissions in cities. The prevailing belief is that dense metropolitan areas produce less
carbon emissions on a per capita basis than less dense surrounding rural areas.
Consequently, density targets have a major role in low-carbon urban developments.
However, based on the results of this study, the connection seems unclear or even
nonexistent when comprehensive evaluation is made. In this letter, we propose a hybrid life
cycle assessment (LCA) method for calculating the consumption-based carbon footprints in
metropolitan areas, i.e. carbon consumption, with the emphasis on urban structures. The
method is input–output-based hybrid LCA, which operates with the existing data from the
region. The study is conducted by performing an analysis of the carbon consumption in two
metropolitan areas in Finland, including 11 cities. Both areas consist of a dense city core
and a less dense surrounding suburban area. The paper will illustrate that the
influence of urban density on carbon emissions is insignificant in the selected
metropolitan areas. In addition, the utilized consumption-based method links the
climate effects of city-level development to the global production of emissions.
