Spatiotemporal patterns and drivers of the urban air pollution island effect for 2273 cities in China

Lu Niu, Zhengfeng Zhang*, Yingzi Liang, Jasper van Vliet

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Air pollution levels tend to be higher in urban areas than in surrounding rural areas, and this air pollution has a negative effect on human health. However, the spatiotemporal patterns of urban–rural air pollution differences and the determinants of these differences remain unclear. Here, we calculate the Urban Air Pollution Island (UAPI) intensity for PM2.5 and PM10 on a monthly, seasonal, and annual scale for 2273 cities in China from 2000 to 2020. Subsequently, we analyze the influence of urban characteristics using a combined approach of a two-way fixed effects model and a spatial Durbin model. Results show a strong downward trend in the UAPI intensity since 2013, with reductions ranging from 42 % to 61 % until 2020, for both pollutants and in summer as well as winter. Consistently, the proportion of the cities experiencing the UAPI phenomenon decreased from 94.5 % to 77.3 % for both PM2.5 and PM10. We find a significant influence of urban morphology on UAPI. Specifically, urban sprawl, polycentric development, and an increase in urban green spaces are associated with a reduction in UAPI, while dense urban areas intensify it. Our study also reveals a robust inverted U-shaped relationship between stages of economic development and UAPI. Moreover, economic development and air pollution itself show spillover effects that oppose their direct impacts. These results suggest that urban and regional planning and more ambitious climate change mitigation policies could be more effective strategies for mitigating air pollution in cities than end-of-pipe control.

Original languageEnglish
Article number108455
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalEnvironment International
Volume184
Early online date21 Jan 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s)

Funding

Zhengfeng Zhang was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42077433 , 71974220 ) and the National Social Science Fund of China (No. 21AZD041 ). Jasper van Vliet was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research NWO in the form of a VIDI grant (Grant No VI.Vidi.198.008 ). Lu Niu would like to thank China Scholarship Council for the financial support ( 202206360040 ) and thank Shuocun Chen for the assistance with visualization.

FundersFunder number
National Natural Science Foundation of China71974220, 42077433
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk OnderzoekVI.Vidi.198.008
China Scholarship Council202206360040
National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences21AZD041

    Keywords

    • Air pollution
    • Air quality
    • Spatial econometrics
    • Spatial-temporal patterns
    • Urban morphology
    • Urbanization

    VU Research Profile

    • Science for Sustainability

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