Metro Proximity and Built Environment on Commuting CO2 Emissions in Shanghai

Abstract

To explore the impact of geographical location, built environment, public transportation service and individual socioeconomic attributes on commuting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a survey was conducted in 27 residential compounds of Shanghai in 2016. In this paper, commuting distance was calculated according to a Baidu map application programming interface (API). CO2 emissions were calculated based on the mode used in each segment of commuting and distance travelled. Through the use of a multiple linear regression model, factors of personal socioeconomic attributes, including gender, occupation and apartment area, were significant to commuting CO2 emissions. In terms of the public transport service, the distance from compounds to the nearest metro station was found to be a significant factor on CO2 emissions, whereas the built environment, such as parking space and employment density, had a weak impact in our study. In addition, even when living near a metro station, the top 20% of travellers’ CO2 emissions can account for approximately 80% of the total CO2 emissions. Hence, policies to reduce those people’s commuting CO2 emissions are worth further exploring.