Work

The heterogeneous effects of the built environment on commuting and non-commuting carbon emission: evidence from Wuhan, China

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Despite growing attention to urban travel carbon emissions, the differentiated drivers of commuting and non-commuting behaviors remain underexplored. Using Wuhan as a case, this study applies time-geographic theory and interpretable machine learning to examine nonlinear relationships shaping travel-related carbon emissions (TCE) across commuting and non-commuting groups. Results show commuting TCE is primarily influenced by socioeconomic factors such as gender and income, reflecting rigid constraints, while non-commuting TCE is more responsive to built environment features, especially POI density and transit accessibility. A shared low-emission window exists, with optimal POI density (100–400 items/km 2 ) and intersection density (<15/km 2 ). Interaction patterns indicate that built-environment associations vary across socioeconomic groups. The analysis also highlights Wuhan’s spatial duality: morphological polycentrism coexists with functional monocentrism, while non-commuting TCE is more closely associated with community-scale services. These findings suggest the need for differentiated, group-specific low-carbon strategies, contributing new evidence for integrating behavioral heterogeneity into transport and land use policies.

Source: Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives

DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2026.102210

Authors: Haidong Li, Shuo Yang, Liang Guo, Fatang Liu, Xiaoli Sun

Institution: Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Urban Transport and Accessibility

Subfield: Transportation

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Climate action, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,400