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Urbanization and Carbon Emissions: A Nationwide Study of Local Countervailing Effects in the United States

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  • James R. Elliott
  • Matthew Thomas Clement

Abstract

type="main"> This study advances a theoretical framework for examining the impact of urbanization on local carbon emissions over space and time. It conceptualizes urbanization at the local level as a set of three distinct but related subprocesses of population concentration, land-use intensification, and systemic interaction, which join together to exert countervailing effects on local carbon emissions. To test this framework we conduct cross-sectional and panel regression analyses of carbon emissions at the county level across the continental United States, controlling for spatial autocorrelation. Findings strongly support our framework and show how different dimensions of urbanization push against one another at the local level to influence carbon emissions in ways that exert far more consistent effects than household density and alternative transit use. These findings illuminate the complexities of urbanization as a local force of environmental transformation with increasingly global consequences.

Suggested Citation

  • James R. Elliott & Matthew Thomas Clement, 2014. "Urbanization and Carbon Emissions: A Nationwide Study of Local Countervailing Effects in the United States," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(3), pages 795-816, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:95:y:2014:i:3:p:795-816
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ssqu.12079
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard York, 2012. "Do alternative energy sources displace fossil fuels?," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(6), pages 441-443, June.
    2. Clinton Andrews, 2008. "Greenhouse gas emissions along the rural-urban gradient," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6), pages 847-870.
    3. Liddle, Brantley & Lung, Sidney, 2010. "Age-Structure, Urbanization, and Climate Change in Developed Countries: Revisiting STIRPAT for Disaggregated Population and Consumption-Related Environmental Impacts," MPRA Paper 59579, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Shiyi & Jin, Hao & Lu, Yulin, 2019. "Impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions and energy consumption structure: A panel data analysis for Chinese prefecture-level cities," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 107-119.
    2. Deka, Devajyoti, 2018. "Exploration of millennials' perception of spending on cities, mass transit, and highways," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 224-232.
    3. Andrew K Jorgenson & Jennifer Givens, 2015. "The Changing Effect of Economic Development on the Consumption-Based Carbon Intensity of Well-Being, 1990–2008," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Matthew Thomas Clement & Nathan W. Pino & Jarrett Blaustein, 2019. "Homicide Rates and the Multiple Dimensions of Urbanization: A Longitudinal, Cross-National Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Wang, Yan, 2020. "Urban land and sustainable resource use: Unpacking the countervailing effects of urbanization on water use in China, 1990–2014," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

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