Impact of Urban Neighborhood Morphology on PM2.5 Concentration Distribution at Different Scale Buffers

Abstract

PM2.5 air pollution is a critical global health issue. This paper introduces an innovative framework to explore the multi-scale relationship between urban morphology and PM2.5 concentrations. An enhanced Land Use Regression (LUR) model integrates geographic, architectural, and visual factors, enabling analysis from neighborhood to regional scales. A stratified sampling strategy, combined with standardized mobile monitoring and fixed-site data, establishes a robust and verifiable data collection methodology. Cross-validation (CV R2 > 0.70) further confirms the model’s reliability and robustness. The nested buffer analysis reveals scale-dependent effects of urban morphology on PM2.5 concentrations, providing quantitative evidence for planning interventions. Quantitative analysis shows land use (β = 0.42, p p p < 0.01) in descending order of influence. Geographic factors are significant at the regional scale (2000–3000 m) while architectural parameters dominate at the neighborhood scale (50–500 m), informing both macro-scale spatial optimization and micro-scale design. This framework, through standardized parameters and reproducible procedures, supports cross-regional and cross-scale air quality assessments, providing quantitative metrics for urban planning, neighborhood optimization, and public space design.

Keywords

• air quality
• pollutant dispersion
• urban neighborhood morphology
• Land Use Regression (LUR)
• different scale buffers