Effects of Compact Urban Development on Air Pollution: Empirical Evidence from Korea

Hee-Sun Cho and Mack Joong Choi
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Hee-Sun Cho: Green Technology Center, Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-705, Korea
Mack Joong Choi: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea

Sustainability, 2014, vol. 6, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: This study investigates the effects of compact urban development on air pollution, taking into account both the spatial distribution of pollutants resulting from an increase in inner urban densities and the dispersion of pollutants associated with an increase in outer green open spaces. The empirical analysis is based upon a panel data model covering 17 cities in Korea from 1996–2009; this approach is used because urban air pollution is influenced by spatial and temporal changes. Measuring the air pollution level by distance from city centers demonstrates that the spatial concentration of emission sources does not necessarily increase air pollution levels. The two-way fixed effects model, which is employed to control both individual (regional) and time effects, shows that SO 2 decreases as the proportion of green area increases, while a rise in net density leads to an increase of NO 2 . Both effects are observed in the case of CO dispersion by green area as well as emission source concentration by high densities. Therefore, there is no clear impact of compact urban development on air quality, which is instead related to pollutant-specific characteristics and the emission source.

Keywords: compact urban development; air pollution; net urban density; green open spaces; dispersion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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