Assessing the Development Level of Urbanization on the Impact of Air Quality Improvement: A Case Study of Provinces and Municipalities Region, China

Unlimited urbanization has led to low utilization efficiency of resources. The environment is continuously being sacrificed for urban construction. In the long-term, as the environmental carrying capacity decreases the social common benefits, as well as the urban economic development benefits, will also decrease. This could severely impact the health of city residents. A thorough understanding of the influence of urbanization level on air pollution is crucial for the formation of optimal and feasible urban environmental governance. This study analyzes the relationship between measurable urbanization evaluation indicators and particulate matter (PM10), an air pollution indicator, in 27 provinces and 4 municipalities in China. In this study, a fuzzy statistical method, the grey relational analysis (GRA), was used to examine the interactions among various urbanization evaluation indicators and air pollutants. The panel data regression model was then employed to quantify the relationships between these indicators and air pollution. Based on integrating literature research and collected data, six categories of urbanization evaluation indicators were identified as the primary indicators: ➀ economic strength and industrial structure; ➁ energy utilization efficiency; ➂ social security and education expenditure; ➃ urban space layout and public transportation resources; ➄ urbanization efficiency; and ➅ waste treatment and environmental protection investment. The main conclusions are: (1) These indicators of urbanization have different impacts on air pollution. (2) Waste treatment and environmental protection investment is the main factor affecting air quality improvement. (3) Differences in the economic development level and the uncoordinated speed and quality of urban development affect air quality. Accordingly, the establishment of an evaluation and supervision mechanism for regulating the level of urbanization development is proposed. This mechanism could ensure urban air quality improvement and optimize the coordination of urban development.