1. Urban compactness and patch complexity influence PM2.5 concentrations in contrasting ways: Evidence from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China.
- Author
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Huang, Qianyuan, Xu, Chao, Jiang, Weiyu, Yue, Wencong, Rong, Qiangqiang, Gu, Zhihui, and Su, Meirong
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URBAN density , *URBAN planning , *PRINCIPAL components analysis , *URBAN growth , *URBAN planners , *SUSTAINABLE development - Abstract
[Display omitted] • Patch complexity and urban compactness indexes were developed to assess urban form. • The impact of urban form on PM 2.5 was explored in GBA by spatial panel models. • The complexity of urban patches had a negative effect on PM 2.5 concentrations. • The impact of urban compactness on PM 2.5 concentrations was positive. • A more complex and less compact urban form was adoptable in terms of reducing PM 2.5. Given the serious threat of PM 2.5 pollution to the environment and public health in China, reducing PM 2.5 concentrations through urban planning practices has become a common interest of urban planners and policymakers. In this regard, identifying the relationship between urban form and PM 2.5 concentrations has been a matter of much concern. This paper seeks to investigate how urban form influences PM 2.5 concentrations by taking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a case study. First, the urban form was assessed by two indicators, i.e., the patch complexity index (PCI) and urban compactness index (UCI), which were developed based on multiple landscape metrics and the principal component analysis. Then, the relationship between PM 2.5 concentrations and the two urban form indicators was revealed by spatial panel models. Our results mainly showed that PCI and UCI were negatively and positively associated with PM 2.5 concentrations, respectively, indicating that less compact urban forms with high patch complexity had advantages in reducing the PM 2.5 concentrations. According to these empirical results, the mixed-use urban development with high green coverage, which is conducive to constructing a more complex and less compact urban form, would be adoptable in terms of mitigating PM 2.5 concentrations in the GBA urban agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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