Abstract
Population agglomeration and haze pollution are two major problems that urban development will inevitably face in the future. Population agglomeration has a spatial impact on smog pollution through scale and intensive effects. This paper uses panel data from 236 prefecture-level cities in China from 2001 to 2012 to verify the impact of urban population agglomeration on haze pollution and its mechanism based on a spatial lag model. The research shows that: (1) China’s urban haze pollution has a significant positive spatial spillover effect, and presents a spatial distribution state of high-high and low-low agglomeration. (2) There is a significant “N-type” nonlinear relationship between urban population agglomeration and haze pollution. (3) At present, the scale effect of urban population agglomeration in China is greater than the intensification effect, and the scale effect as well as intensification effect have opposite effects on haze pollution. This shows that urban layout should be scientifically planned, urban population should be reasonably controlled, production efficiency should be improved, and green development should be promoted to deal with haze pollution. (4) The spillover effect of urban population agglomeration on haze pollution is significantly greater than the direct effect, indicating that local haze pollution is more likely to be affected by spatially related regions, indicating that strengthening regional coordination and cooperation and joint prevention and control are necessary to control haze pollution.
Highlights
Haze pollution has recently emerged as a significant atmospheric environmental hazard harming China’s economic and social development
We will examine which of the two mechanisms of urban population agglomeration on haze pollution is dominant
The scale and collective effects provide some empirical reference for future policy formulation on urban population agglomeration and haze pollution control
Summary
Haze pollution has recently emerged as a significant atmospheric environmental hazard harming China’s economic and social development. According to data from China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection’s (MEP) National Air Quality Report released at the end of 2016, only 84 of the country’s 338 cities at the prefecture level and above met the annual average air quality standards, with the majority of cities suffering from haze pollution. The primary sources of haze pollution are pollutant concentrations, atmospheric conditions, and air humidity. Pollutant concentration is both a required material basis for creating haze pollution and intimately tied to human life. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme’s World Cities Report (2016), published on May 18, 2016, the top 600 big cities currently house one-fifth of the world’s gross population and generate up to
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