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  • Aug. 15, 2025

Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (5): 838-853.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.363

• Carbon Emissions • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Impact of urban compactness on carbon emission performance in the Yellow River Basin

CHENG Lanhua1(), YANG Xianming1,2(), WU Xinyan3   

  1. 1. College of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
    3. Faculty of Engineering and Geography, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, Ningxia, China
  • Received:2024-06-11 Revised:2024-08-12 Online:2025-05-25 Published:2025-05-13
  • Contact: YANG Xianming E-mail:chenglanhua91@163.com;21cnyjs@163.com

Abstract:

Under the framework of China’s “double carbon” goal, moderately compact urban development is considered the optimal approach for achieving green, low-carbon, and high-quality growth in the Yellow River Basin. Considering 77 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin as examples, this study constructed a comprehensive evaluation index system across several dimensions such as population, economy, and society. Employing the entropy weight technique, comprehensive weighted summation model, kernel density estimation, bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis, spatiotemporal weighted regression model, and a geographical detector, this study analyzed the effects and mechanisms of urban compactness on carbon emission performance in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2021. The results are as follows. (1) From 2005 to 2021, both the urban compactness and carbon emission performance in the Yellow River Basin slightly increased. Urban compactness exhibited a spatial distribution pattern of “lower in the upper and middle reaches, and higher in the lower reaches”, whereas carbon emission performance exhibited a pattern of “lower in the middle reaches, and higher in the upper and lower reaches”. (2) The correlation between urban compactness and carbon emission performance varied significantly across time and space in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2021. Most cities demonstrated a negative spatial correlation, with the number of such cities increasing over time in the Yellow River Basin. Cities of the Yellow River Basin with positive spatial correlation between urban compactness and carbon emission performance were mostly located in the middle and lower reaches. (3) The negative impacts of land use compactness and population compactness on carbon emission performance were relatively obvious in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2021. The negative impact of land use compactness weakened. For population compactness, the negative impact increased in the mid-upper reaches regions but weakened in the downstream regions. The economic compactness and transportation compactness mainly had positive impacts on carbon emission performance, yet the areas with negative impacts of transportation compactness increased both in the upstream and downstream regions. (4) The influence of urban compactness on the carbon emission performance was enhanced when interacting with other socioeconomic factors in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2021. Synergies among various factors considerably affected the carbon emission performance. The greatest combined effect was observed between the economic compactness and energy consumption levels. Thus, to promote coordinated development in the Yellow River Basin, differentiated urban compact development strategies must be implemented based on regional conditions. Further, efforts should focus on the optimization of industrial structures, improvement of urbanization quality, fostering of low-carbon technology innovation, and dynamic adjustments of urban compactness. These measures are aimed at promoting balanced economic growth, social welfare, and low-carbon development across the entire basin.

Key words: urban compactness, carbon emission performance, effects, interactive effect, the Yellow River Basin