Housing exchange framework to reduce carbon emissions from commuting

Prevailing strategies for commuting efficiency focus predominantly on land-use and transportation policies, whereas research on the environmental benefits of housing reallocation strategies to mitigate excess commuting remains critically underexplored. Here this study proposes an information-enabled housing exchange framework and quantifies the potential reduction of commuting-related carbon emissions it can achieve. Leveraging housing and travel survey data from Beijing (n = 2,032), Munich (n = 3,131) and Singapore (n = 7,418), at the household level, our analysis reveals that commuting distances could be reduced by approximately 10.49%–12.70%, corresponding to CO2 emissions reductions of 11.33%, 12.09% and 13.42%, respectively. Crucially, strategic relocation of the households with the 5% highest carbon reduction potential could yield more than 50% of total achievable emissions reduction. These results demonstrate that enhancing housing market efficiency through information transparency can generate substantial environmental co-benefits. The integration of conventional policies with this approach would enable a viable pathway to sustainable urban development. Little is known about the environmental benefits of housing reallocation. This study fills the gap, presenting an information-enabled housing exchange framework that, in the case of Beijing, Munich and Singapore, could substantially reduce the carbon emissions from commuting.