IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i4p1202-d320287.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Urban Form, Air Quality, and Cardiorespiratory Mortality: A Path Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Chaosu Li

    (Faculty of Innovation and Design, City University of Macau, Macau, China)

  • Yan Song

    (Department of City Planning, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
    Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA)

  • Li Tian

    (School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Wei Ouyang

    (School of Public Administration, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

Abstract

With the unprecedented urbanization during the past three decades, air quality in many Chinese cities has been a serious issue which poses great challenges for urban sustainability. This study examines the health consequences of development patterns in China by establishing the linkage between urban form, air pollution level, and cardiorespiratory mortality rate. We assembled a dataset by compiling a series of variables from multiple sources, including China’s Disease Surveillance Points (DSP) system, which forms a nationally representative sample of mortality for the year 2005, Chinese census, satellite imagery, and the Chinese National Land Use Database. After controlling for local climate, demography, socioeconomics, and other pollution factors, this study finds that urban form elements (e.g., urban density, fragmentation level, forest/green space ratio) have significant influences on PM 2.5 (atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers) concentration, thus influencing the incidence of cardiorespiratory mortality at the county level. These results may help explain how the type and pattern of development shape public health by influencing air quality and form an evidence-based land use policy to improve environmental quality and public health.

Suggested Citation

  • Chaosu Li & Yan Song & Li Tian & Wei Ouyang, 2020. "Urban Form, Air Quality, and Cardiorespiratory Mortality: A Path Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-14, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:4:p:1202-:d:320287
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/4/1202/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/4/1202/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Glaeser, Edward L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2010. "The greenness of cities: Carbon dioxide emissions and urban development," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 404-418, May.
    2. Shaobo Zhong & Zhichen Yu & Wei Zhu, 2019. "Study of the Effects of Air Pollutants on Human Health Based on Baidu Indices of Disease Symptoms and Air Quality Monitoring Data in Beijing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Lisa Schweitzer & Jiangping Zhou, 2010. "Neighborhood Air Quality, Respiratory Health, and Vulnerable Populations in Compact and Sprawled Regions," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 76(3), pages 363-371.
    4. Man Yuan & Yan Song & Liang Guo, 2018. "Exploring Determinants of Urban Form in China through an Empirical Study among 115 Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Theodore J. Mansfield & Daniel A. Rodriguez & Joseph Huegy & Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, 2015. "The Effects of Urban Form on Ambient Air Pollution and Public Health Risk: A Case Study in Raleigh, North Carolina," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(5), pages 901-918, May.
    6. Selden Thomas M. & Song Daqing, 1994. "Environmental Quality and Development: Is There a Kuznets Curve for Air Pollution Emissions?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 147-162, September.
    7. Hankey, Steve & Marshall, Julian D., 2010. "Impacts of urban form on future US passenger-vehicle greenhouse gas emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 4880-4887, September.
    8. Knowles, Richard D., 2012. "Transit Oriented Development in Copenhagen, Denmark: from the Finger Plan to Ørestad," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 251-261.
    9. Chunshan Zhou & Shijie Li & Shaojian Wang, 2018. "Examining the Impacts of Urban Form on Air Pollution in Developing Countries: A Case Study of China’s Megacities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, July.
    10. Lee, Sungwon & Lee, Bumsoo, 2014. "The influence of urban form on GHG emissions in the U.S. household sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 534-549.
    11. Albert Satorra & Peter Bentler, 2010. "Ensuring Positiveness of the Scaled Difference Chi-square Test Statistic," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 75(2), pages 243-248, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaodong Yang & Jianlong Wang & Jianhong Cao & Siyu Ren & Qiying Ran & Haitao Wu, 2022. "The spatial spillover effect of urban sprawl and fiscal decentralization on air pollution: evidence from 269 cities in China," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 847-875, August.
    2. Wei Wu & Binxia Xue & Yan Song & Xujie Gong & Tao Ma, 2023. "Investigating the Impacts of Urban Built Environment on Travel Energy Consumption: A Case Study of Ningbo, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Hania Rahimi-Ardabili & Thomas Astell-Burt & Phi-Yen Nguyen & Juan Zhang & Yu Jiang & Guang-Hui Dong & Xiaoqi Feng, 2021. "Green Space and Health in Mainland China: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-22, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fang, Chuanglin & Wang, Shaojian & Li, Guangdong, 2015. "Changing urban forms and carbon dioxide emissions in China: A case study of 30 provincial capital cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 519-531.
    2. LEE, Sungwon & LEE, Bumsoo, 2020. "Comparing the impacts of local land use and urban spatial structure on household VMT and GHG emissions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Changlong Sun & Yongli Zhang & Wenwen Ma & Rong Wu & Shaojian Wang, 2022. "The Impacts of Urban Form on Carbon Emissions: A Comprehensive Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, August.
    4. Ying Huang & Yongli Zhang & Feifan Deng & Daiqing Zhao & Rong Wu, 2022. "Impacts of Built-Environment on Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Traffic: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Ramesh Chandra Das & Tonmoy Chatterjee & Enrico Ivaldi, 2021. "Sustainability of Urbanization, Non-Agricultural Output and Air Pollution in the World’s Top 20 Polluting Countries," Data, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-16, June.
    6. Zhonghua Cheng & Xiaowen Hu, 2023. "The effects of urbanization and urban sprawl on CO2 emissions in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 1792-1808, February.
    7. Qing Su, 2017. "Travel Demand Management Policy Instruments, Urban Spatial Characteristics, and Household Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Travel in the US Urban Areas," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 7(3), pages 157-166.
    8. Diana Saadi & Emanuel Tirosh & Izhak Schnell, 2021. "The Relationship between City Size and Carbon Monoxide (CO) Concentration and Their Effect on Heart Rate Variability (HRV)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-13, January.
    9. Silva, Mafalda C. & Horta, Isabel M. & Leal, Vítor & Oliveira, Vítor, 2017. "A spatially-explicit methodological framework based on neural networks to assess the effect of urban form on energy demand," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 386-398.
    10. Gao, Jiong & Ma, Shoufeng & Zou, Hongyang & Du, Huibin, 2023. "How does population agglomeration influence the adoption of new energy vehicles? Evidence from 290 cities in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    11. Huan Zhang, 2021. "The Impact of Urban Sprawl on Environmental Pollution: Empirical Analysis from Large and Medium-Sized Cities of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-19, August.
    12. Kahn, Matthew E. & Walsh, Randall, 2015. "Cities and the Environment," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 405-465, Elsevier.
    13. Carozzi, Felipe & Roth, Sefi, 2020. "Dirty Density: Air Quality and the Density of American Cities," IZA Discussion Papers 13191, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Bigerna, Simona & D'Errico, Maria Chiara & Polinori, Paolo, 2022. "Understanding the green-growth: which pathways cities undertake in their climate programs," MPRA Paper 114156, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Cárdenas Rodríguez, Miguel & Dupont-Courtade, Laura & Oueslati, Walid, 2016. "Air pollution and urban structure linkages: Evidence from European cities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-9.
    16. Man Yuan & Mingrui Yan & Zhuoran Shan, 2021. "Is Compact Urban Form Good for Air Quality? A Case Study from China Based on Hourly Smartphone Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    17. Cheol Hee Son & Jong In Baek & Yong Un Ban, 2018. "Structural Impact Relationships Between Urban Development Intensity Characteristics and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, June.
    18. Chunshan Zhou & Shijie Li & Shaojian Wang, 2018. "Examining the Impacts of Urban Form on Air Pollution in Developing Countries: A Case Study of China’s Megacities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, July.
    19. Yuyao Ye & Changjian Wang & Yuling Zhang & Kangmin Wu & Qitao Wu & Yongxian Su, 2017. "Low-Carbon Transportation Oriented Urban Spatial Structure: Theory, Model and Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Xiaodong Zhang & Yongjun Tang & Haoying Han & Zhilu Chen, 2023. "Evolution Characteristics and Main Influencing Factors of Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Chinese Cities from 2005 to 2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-19, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:4:p:1202-:d:320287. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.