Changing urban forms and carbon dioxide emissions in China: A case study of 30 provincial capital cities

Abstract

h i g h l i g h t sThe relationship between urban form and CO 2 emissions is investigated. A panel data model is used, taking the period 1990-2010. The growth of urban areas correlates positively with CO 2 emissions. Increases in urban continuity has an inhibitory effect on CO 2 emissions. Increased urban shape complexity exhibits a positive influence in relation to CO 2 emissions. a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c tUrban form is increasingly being recognised by scientists for the potential role it might play in the coordination of sustainable urban development and the reduction of CO 2 emissions. However, despite increasing interest in the morphology of cities in climate change science, few quantitative estimates have been made of the effects of urban form on CO 2 emissions. The goal of this study is to quantify this relation, using panel data for China's 30 provincial capital cities from 1990 to 2010. In order to meet this aim, we first selected a series of urban form indicators, which we quantified by applying spatial metrics to remotely sensed data. We then estimated CO 2 emission levels using a unified standard method recommended by the IPCC Guidelines, and subsequently performed a panel data analysis. The results of the study demonstrated a positive correlation between the growth of urban areas and CO 2 emission levels. Further, it was also found that increased ''urban continuity" led to reductions in CO 2 emissions and that, conversely, increased ''urban shape complexity" exerted a positive influence in relation to CO 2 emissions. The findings of this study indicate that measures to make existing cities in China more compact may in fact help to reduce levels of CO 2 emissions, just as increasing fragmentation or increased irregularity with respect to urban form may contribute to increased CO 2 emissions. If serious about achieving meaningful reductions in CO 2 emissions, decision makers and planners should take urban form into consideration when developing low-carbon cities in China.

The Impact of Infrastructure Stock Density on CO2 Emissions: Evidence from China Provinces

“…As indicated by Figure 3, both the absolute amount and density of infrastructure's material stocks have reached a relatively high level in the eastern region, comparing to those in the central and western regions. It has also been confirmed by our panel analysis that the increase of infrastructure stock density will reduce CO 2 emissions in the eastern region, which is consistent with the findings in many existing studies that a spatially compact urban form usually consumes less energy [9,37,38]. Moreover, as shown in Figure 4, in some highly urbanized areas such as Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Pearl River Delta (PRD), and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), their economic development has reached a high level and thus had a large amount of infrastructure stocks and high stock density.…”

“…For example, Poumanyvong and Kaneko [7] suggested that the impact of urbanization on CO 2 emissions was positive for all income groups, while Sharma et al [8] held the opposite opinion that urbanization has a negative and statistically significant impact on CO 2 emissions for the global panel. Fang et al [9] selected a series of urban form indicators and found that increased urban continuity will led to reductions in CO 2 emissions and that, conversely, increased urban shape complexity and exerted a positive influence in relation to CO 2 emissions. Yang et al [10] found that socio-economic development and increased income were the primary driving factors for the growth of per capita CO 2 emissions from transportation.…”

Investigation of the Impacts of Urban Land Use Patterns on Energy Consumption in China: A Case Study of 20 Provincial Capital Cities

“…Moreover, decelerating the economic growth process could be the most effective method of reducing energy consumption and mitigating global climate change. However, rapid economic growth and urbanization are currently the main goals of the Chinese government [50]. Therefore, the government faces the arduous challenge of continuously balancing increases in urban energy consumption and rapid economic growth with meeting environmental goals [25].…”

Does urbanization lead to less energy use on road transport? Evidence from municipalities in Norway

“…This is questionable due to its multiple facets (e.g., urban area, urban density, residential dwelling spatial structure) across countries and geographical regions. In addition, many recent empirical studies have found that some urban form variables (e.g., urban area, residential density, housing sizes and types, urban structure) can have significant impacts on environment (i.e., carbon emission, energy use) (Boyko and Cooper, 2011;Fang et al, 2015;Lee and Lee, 2014;Norman et al, 2006;Perkins et al, 2009;Reingewertz, 2012 ;Yang et al, 2015;Yin et al, 2015). Therefore, further studies with careful considerations of the different urban forms become imperative.…”