Identifying the relationship between air quality and road network cellular pattern in China

Air pollution has become a serious environmental problem in recent decades. Transportation has been reported to be a major source of air pollutants. Road networks are a closely related factor that may have a potential influence on air quality. In previous studies, this effect has been investigated using simple descriptors of road networks such as length and density, which are still insufficient to explain the difference in air quality. In this study, we depict patterns of road networks using landscape metrics and employ spatial models to explore the relationship between air quality and the metrics. Results indicate that the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 are related to the area and shape of cells in road networks. In addition, NO2 concentration is also connected with the separation and diversity of cell types.