the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 16 Dec 2024
Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China
Abstract. This study presents a comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis of air quality across various urban functional zones in China from 2017 to 2022, uncovering distinct impacts on air quality due to the unique characteristics of each zone. A general decrease in various pollutant concentrations is observed, a result of stringent pollution control policies. Residential, commercial, and industrial zones show significant declines, whereas the transportation zone experiences the least decrease. However, ozone levels rebound significantly in densely populated residential and commercial zones, and exhibit distinct weekend effects. The research highlights U-shaped seasonal patterns for five key pollutants and inverse seasonal patterns for ozone, which gradually decrease. Furthermore, the daily and seasonal variations of pollutant concentrations in industrial zone are the largest, while those in the public management and service zone are the smallest. Notably, spatial heterogeneity is evident, with regional pollutant distributions linked to local emissions, control measures, urban morphology, and climate variability. These findings indicate that, in the future, the Chinese government should curb ozone pollution, strengthen air pollution control in transportation zone, and formulate more scientific and accurate air pollution control policies based on the local situation of each city. This study emphasizes the critical link between urbanization and air quality, advocating for continuous monitoring and the development of zone-specific air quality strategies to ensure sustainable urban environments.
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Notice on discussion status
The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
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Preprint
(2640 KB)
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Supplement
(4051 KB)
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
- Preprint
(2640 KB) - Metadata XML
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Supplement
(4051 KB) - BibTeX
- EndNote
- Final revised paper
Journal article(s) based on this preprint
Interactive discussion
Status: closed
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CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Hao Fan, 13 Jan 2025
1
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350-CC1 -
AC4: 'Reply on CC1', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
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AC4: 'Reply on CC1', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
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CC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Hao Fan, 13 Jan 2025
In this study, the concentration of air pollutants in different urban functional areas was counted by means of cartographic classification criteria. This novel idea is of great significance to the study of urban air pollution. In the future, the author can consider carrying out specific case studies for typical cities and expanding management experience.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350-CC2 -
AC3: 'Reply on CC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
-
AC3: 'Reply on CC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
-
RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Feb 2025
This comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis of air quality across various urban functional zones in China is very meaningful. However, I feel like the authors are off topic. The authors' subsequent analysis did not focus on the data analysis of the division of different urban functional zones, especially the final conclusion did not emphasize the effects of which urban functional zones in which types of cities.
The main problems are as follows.
- The annotation of references is not standardized, for example, “Zhang et al., 2022c” on line 26 should be “Zhang et al., 2022a”.
- This translation of “the Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky Defense Battle” on line 117 and “Suzhou and Qingdao have the most residential zone sites,” on line 186, etc. is inappropriate, which is too Chinglish.
- What is the meaning of this paragraph on line 117-121 in “2.1 Study area”? Why is it placed here?
- The production of Figure 1 is not standardized. Because the latitude and longitude grid has already been marked in Figure 1, there is no need for a compass.
- “2.3.1 Data preprocessing” should be placed in “2.2 Data sources”.
- I haven't found any specific data analysis or research methods in “2.3 Data analysis methods”.
- “3.4 Analysis of influencing factors” only includes three single factor analyses, which is too simple.
- Overall, this manuscript contains too much data description and lacks data analysis, especially discussion.
- When analyzing the impact of different urban functional zones on air quality, the authors overlooked the scale effect of different functional zones, especially the scale effect of various level cities.
- “These findings indicate that, in the future, the Chinese government should curb ozone pollution, strengthen air pollution control in transportation zone, and formulate more scientific and accurate air pollution control policies based on the local situation of each city.” on line 18-21 is not the focus in “Abstract”, which doesn't need to be placed here.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350-RC1 -
AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
-
RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Anonymous Referee #2, 08 Apr 2025
Please see attached file for detailed comments. I am happy to provide more specific comments on a revised version of this manuscript through posting comments on the interactive copy.
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Interactive discussion
Status: closed
-
CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Hao Fan, 13 Jan 2025
1
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350-CC1 -
AC4: 'Reply on CC1', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
-
AC4: 'Reply on CC1', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
-
CC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Hao Fan, 13 Jan 2025
In this study, the concentration of air pollutants in different urban functional areas was counted by means of cartographic classification criteria. This novel idea is of great significance to the study of urban air pollution. In the future, the author can consider carrying out specific case studies for typical cities and expanding management experience.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350-CC2 -
AC3: 'Reply on CC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
-
AC3: 'Reply on CC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
-
RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Feb 2025
This comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis of air quality across various urban functional zones in China is very meaningful. However, I feel like the authors are off topic. The authors' subsequent analysis did not focus on the data analysis of the division of different urban functional zones, especially the final conclusion did not emphasize the effects of which urban functional zones in which types of cities.
The main problems are as follows.
- The annotation of references is not standardized, for example, “Zhang et al., 2022c” on line 26 should be “Zhang et al., 2022a”.
- This translation of “the Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky Defense Battle” on line 117 and “Suzhou and Qingdao have the most residential zone sites,” on line 186, etc. is inappropriate, which is too Chinglish.
- What is the meaning of this paragraph on line 117-121 in “2.1 Study area”? Why is it placed here?
- The production of Figure 1 is not standardized. Because the latitude and longitude grid has already been marked in Figure 1, there is no need for a compass.
- “2.3.1 Data preprocessing” should be placed in “2.2 Data sources”.
- I haven't found any specific data analysis or research methods in “2.3 Data analysis methods”.
- “3.4 Analysis of influencing factors” only includes three single factor analyses, which is too simple.
- Overall, this manuscript contains too much data description and lacks data analysis, especially discussion.
- When analyzing the impact of different urban functional zones on air quality, the authors overlooked the scale effect of different functional zones, especially the scale effect of various level cities.
- “These findings indicate that, in the future, the Chinese government should curb ozone pollution, strengthen air pollution control in transportation zone, and formulate more scientific and accurate air pollution control policies based on the local situation of each city.” on line 18-21 is not the focus in “Abstract”, which doesn't need to be placed here.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3350-RC1 -
AC2: 'Reply on RC1', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
-
RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3350', Anonymous Referee #2, 08 Apr 2025
Please see attached file for detailed comments. I am happy to provide more specific comments on a revised version of this manuscript through posting comments on the interactive copy.
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Dear Editor and Reviewers,
Thank you for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Uncovering the Impact of Urban Functional Zones on Air Quality in China”. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revisions are indicated within the text using track changes. All of the responses have been addressed in blue and revisions have been addressed in red as following file of response letter, and page numbers and line numbers in the response are based on the clean version. In the attached document, we include a point-by-point response to the comments.
Thank you and best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Wenchao HAN & Yang WANG
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC2', Lulu Yuan, 14 May 2025
Peer review completion
Journal article(s) based on this preprint
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Lulu Yuan
Wenchao Han
Jiachen Meng
Haojie Yu
Wenze Li
The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.
- Preprint
(2640 KB) - Metadata XML
-
Supplement
(4051 KB) - BibTeX
- EndNote
- Final revised paper