Can Changes in Urban Form Affect PM 2.5 Concentration? A Comparative Analysis from 286 Prefecture-Level Cities in China

Chuang Sun, Xuegang Chen, Siyu Zhang and Tianhao Li
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Chuang Sun: College of Resource Environment & Tourism, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
Xuegang Chen: School of Geographical Science and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi 830054, China
Siyu Zhang: Beijing National Day School, Beijing 100039, China
Tianhao Li: College of Resource Environment & Tourism, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: It is crucial to the sustainable development of cities that we understand how urban form affects the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) from a spatial–temporal perspective. This study explored the influence of urban form on PM 2.5 concentration in 286 prefecture-level Chinese cities and compared them from national and regional perspectives. The analysis, which explored the influence of urban form on PM 2.5 concentration, was based on two types of urban form indicators (socioeconomic urban index and urban landscape index). The results revealed that cities with high PM 2.5 concentrations tended to be clustered. From the national perspective, urban built-up area (UA) and road density (RD) have a significant correlation with PM 2.5 concentration for all cities. There was a significant negative correlation between the number of patches (NP) and the average concentration of PM 2.5 in small and medium-sized cities. Moreover, urban fragmentation had a stronger impact on PM 2.5 concentrations in small cities. From a sub-regional perspective, there was no significant correlation between urban form and PM 2.5 concentration in the eastern and central regions. On the other hand, the influence of population density on PM 2.5 concentration in northeastern China and northwestern China showed a significant positive correlation. In large- and medium-sized cities, the number of patches (NP), the largest patch index (LPI), and the contagion index (CONTAG) were also positively correlated with PM 2.5 concentration, while the LPI in small cities was significantly negatively correlated with PM 2.5 concentration. This shows that, for more developed areas, planning agencies should encourage moderately decentralized and polycentric urban development. For underdeveloped cities and shrinking cities, the development of a single center should be encouraged.

Keywords: urban form; urbanization; PM 2.5; spatiotemporal characteristics; spatial autocorrelation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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