摘要
建设宜居的生活环境是人类社会实践一直追求的目标,而优化城市人口密度是改善城市宜居环境的重要途径。本文在梳理相关学科理论基础上,以中国城市和美国城市作为主要研究案例,比较不同情境下人口密度与城市宜居性关系的研究结果,总结人口密度和城市宜居性的关系规律。研究发现,在低密度情境下,提高人口密度有助于缩短出行时耗,减少空气污染,提高居民身体健康水平和主观幸福感;而在高密度情境下,提高人口密度却会延长出行时耗,加剧空气污染,损害居民身体健康水平和主观幸福感。基于此,本文认为在兼顾低密度和高密度情境下,人口密度与城市宜居性之间的关系应遵循更具一般性的倒U型规律,即在低密度情境下,提高人口密度有助于增加城市宜居性;而在高密度情境下,提高人口密度则会降低城市宜居性。
Optimizing population density has been recognized as an important way to improve urban livability,which is also the ultimate goal that human society has been pursuing.Although many disciplines,such as geography,urban planning,psychology,economics,and ecology,have made some explorations on the relationship between population density and urban livability,none of the existing theories among these disciplines have directly and systematically introduced the relationship between population density and urban livability.Moreover,the existing theories are mainly based on low-density contexts,ignoring high-density contexts in East Asia,especially in China,leading to relatively limited applications of these theories.This paper takes Chinese and American cities as examples,which are proxies of high-and low-density contexts,respectively.By comparing the research findings in these contexts,we aim to seek a generalized relationship between population density and urban livability.After reviewing the current empirical evidence,we found that population density has an important impact on urban livability but its impacts differ between Chinese and American cities.First,in American cities,population density has positive associations with commuting durations.A possible reason is that a higher population density reduces distances to destinations and improves accessibility to facilities.However,Chinese cities provide opposite evidence,which shows that population density has a negative relationship with commuting durations.This may be because a higher population density in China often induces traffic congestion.Second,population density is mainly negatively related to air pollution in American cities,whereas it is mainly positively associated with air pollution in Chinese cities.Third,many American studies suggest that population density has a positive relationship with physical health,because a higher population density promotes active travel,leading to higher levels of physical activity.However,studies from Chinese cities show that population density has negative or inverted U-shaped associations with physical health due to limited space for physical activity.Fourthly,population density has positive associations with subjective wellbeing by enhancing social capital in American cities,whereas it is negatively associated with subjective wellbeing by reducing social capital in Chinese cities.An important explanation for the above differences is that the basis of population is different between the U.S.and China.That is,population density may have different effects on urban livability in low density contexts(i.e.,American cities)and high density contexts(i.e.,Chinese cities).Combining both contexts,we conclude that there is an inverted U-shaped law between population density and urban livability.In particular,in the low-density contexts,a higher population density promotes urban livability,because it is conducive to reducing travel duration,improving air quality,and enhancing citizens’physical health and subjective well-being.However,in high-density contexts,a higher population density tends to reduce urban livability,as it may prolong travel duration,worsen air quality,and decrease citizens’physical health and subjective well-being.This inverted U-shaped relationship between population density and urban livability reminds geographers and urban planners to reconsider the local contexts of population density when designing and building livable and sustainable cities in China and other countries all over the world.
作者
尹春
孙斌栋
姚夏劼
Yin Chun;Sun Bindong;Yao Xiajie(College of Resource and Environmental Sciences,Wuhan University,Wuhan 430079,Hubei,China;International Institute of Spatial Lifecourse Health(ISLE),Wuhan University,Wuhan 430079,Hubei,China;Research Center for China Administrative Division,East China Normal University,Shanghai 200241,China;Future City Lab,East China Normal University,Shanghai 200241,China;Office of The Communist Party of China,Shanghai Changning District Committee,Shanghai 200050,China)
出处
《地理科学》
CSSCI
CSCD
北大核心
2024年第2期179-191,共13页
Scientia Geographica Sinica
基金
国家社会科学基金重大项目(23ZDA049)资助。
关键词
居住密度
建成环境
宜居城市
健康城市
国际比较
residential density
built environment
livable city
healthy city
international comparison
