The Effects of Urban Forms on the PM2.5 Concentration in China: A Hierarchical Multiscale Analysis.

Mingyue Jiang,Yizhen Wu,Zhijian Chang,Kaifang Shi

doi:10.3390/ijerph18073785

Mingyue Jiang, Yizhen Wu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073785

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Abstract

For a better environment and sustainable development of China, it is indispensable to unravel how urban forms (UF) affect the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration. However, research in this area have not been updated consider multiscale and spatial heterogeneities, thus providing insufficient or incomplete results and analyses. In this study, UF at different scales were extracted and calculated from remote sensing land-use/cover data, and panel data models were then applied to analyze the connections between UF and PM2.5 concentration at the city and provincial scales. Our comparison and evaluation results showed that the PM2.5 concentration could be affected by the UF designations, with the largest patch index (LPI) and landscape shape index (LSI) the most influential at the provincial and city scales, respectively. The number of patches (NP) has a strong negative influence (−0.033) on the PM2.5 concentration at the provincial scale, but it was not statistically significant at the city scale. No significant impact of urban compactness on the PM2.5 concentration was found at the city scale. In terms of the eastern and central provinces, LPI imposed a weighty positive influence on PM2.5 concentration, but it did not exert a significant effect in the western provinces. In the western cities, if the urban layout were either irregular or scattered, exposure to high PM2.5 pollution levels would increase. This study reveals distinct ties of the different UF and PM2.5 concentration at the various scales and helps to determine the reasonable UF in different locations, aimed at reducing the PM2.5 concentration.

Highlights

With very large economic successes and a fast urban development since 2000 [1,2], air pollution problems have increasingly become an important issue in China [3]
The study has explored the relationships between the urban forms (UF) and PM2.5 concentration in China from a multiscale perspective in 27 provinces and
By integrating two control variables, this paper establishes a comprehensive evaluation index system of UF based on the seven metrics describing UF

Summary

Introduction

With very large economic successes and a fast urban development since 2000 [1,2], air pollution problems have increasingly become an important issue in China [3]. The fine particulate matter (PM2.5 ) and other pollutants occurring in air have severely damaged human health in China [4,5,6]. The impact of PM2.5 is widespread, as three out of four Chinese prefectures does not meet national ambient air quality standard limits, as reported by the China Environmental State Bulletin [7]. The aforementioned poor air quality has raised concerns across Chinese society, and all sides would like to address this issue and reduce the PM2.5 concentration. As to reduce the PM2.5 concentration, the first step should be to determine its driving factors.

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