Spatial Pattern of Residential Carbon Dioxide Emissions in a Rapidly Urbanizing Chinese City and Its Mismatch Effect
by
Heli Lu 1,*,†, Guifang Liu 1,*,†, Changhong Miao 1, Chuanrong Zhang 2
, Yaoping Cui 1 and Jincai Zhao 3
Heli Lu 1,*,†, Guifang Liu 1,*,†, Changhong Miao 1, Chuanrong Zhang 2, Yaoping Cui 1 and Jincai Zhao 3
1
Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions of Ministry of Education & Collaborative Innovation Center of Urban-Rural Coordinated Development of Henan Province/Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation Center on Yellow River Civilization of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
2
Department of Geography & Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-4148, USA
3
School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this study.
Sustainability 2018, 10(3), 827; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030827
Received: 10 January 2018 / Revised: 6 March 2018 / Accepted: 13 March 2018 / Published: 15 March 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Pathways: Transition towards Low-Carbon, Sustainable Cities in Emerging Economies)
Cities undergoing rapid urbanization are characterized by quick successions of spatiotemporal patterns, meaning that traditional methods cannot adequately assess carbon emissions from urban residential areas, which prevents the study of spatial mismatch. Therefore, this study utilizes night-time lights to construct a spatial emissions model that enables the analysis of the evolution of emissions patterns in China. The results indicate that, compared to the traditional method, the spatial modeling based on night-time lights reflects the spatial emissions trajectories in a more timely and accurate manner in rapidly urbanizing cities. Additionally, we found a relatively low degree of spatial match between emissions and economic activities, with the former, which are greatly affected by urbanization, having a larger dynamism and instability than the latter. Such spatial mismatch effect illustrates that policy makers should focus on factors beyond economics in order to reduce residential carbon emissions during China’s rapid urbanization process.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Lu, H.; Liu, G.; Miao, C.; Zhang, C.; Cui, Y.; Zhao, J. Spatial Pattern of Residential Carbon Dioxide Emissions in a Rapidly Urbanizing Chinese City and Its Mismatch Effect. Sustainability 2018, 10, 827.
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