Towards Low Carbon Cities in China

This book explores the relationship between urban form and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions based on new empirical evidence from four Chinese cities. It reports on the outcomes of a four year, multidisciplinary research project. It includes the conceptual and methodological framework that guided this inquiry, a discussion concerning characteristics of GHG emissions in China, the relevant policies on emissions control, and the associated economic and environmental challenges that China faces in doing this, four distinctive case studies that explored GHG emissions and possible solutions for its reduction at three environmental scales - cross-metropolitan, intra-city and at the neighbourhood level – as well as comparisons of relationships between these scales, an analysis of residents’ attitudes towards GHG emissions reduction, a discussion of policy implications based on the findings of the research, and identification of priority areas for further research.