Urban spatial structure and commuting-related carbon emissions in China: Do monocentric cities emit more?

Growing cities in China suffer from high road emissions due to the increasing commuting needs among residents and changes in urban structure. In this context, this paper focuses on the link between the urban spatial structure and per capita carbon emissions from the daily commute. To do so, combined with grid-level satellite data including nighttime lights and daytime builtup landcover, we quantify urban morphological configuration within Chinese cities. Moreover, the underlying mechanism, along with the roles of population density and industrial type in the structure-emission link, has been discussed. The results show that urban monocentric configuration leads to higher per capita commuting-related emissions, whereas a polycentric city is associated with lower emissions. This is ascribed to the polycentric spatial structure playing a crucial role in alleviating emissions caused by road congestion through the convenient deployment of mass transportation. In particular, in cities with low population density or an industry-led structure, a monocentric structure is associated with increasing per capita carbon emissions. On this basis, this study provides more granular insights and targeted policy implications for developing low-carbon transport for growing cities in China.