Examining fine-grained commuting CO₂ emission using cellular signaling data: insights from Shanghai, China

Quantifying carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from commuting and the impact of investigating built environment are essential for urban traffic-related emission reduction. This study utilizes more than 11 million pieces of cellular signaling data to estimate CO₂ emissions from commuting without extensive survey work, and examines their association with the built environment at residences and workplaces. The results reveal that the impact of the built environment on CO₂ emissions at workplaces is more significant than that at residences, with spatial heterogeneity playing a stronger role in residences. Moreover, bus stop density has opposite effects on CO₂ emissions at workplaces and residences. Increased bus stop density promotes an increase in home-based CO₂ emissions, but inhibits an increase in work-based CO₂ emissions. Besides, a balanced job-housing distribution and moderate land-use mixing have proved effective in reducing CO₂ emissions. This empirical study provides a valuable framework to conduct fine-grained research to explore targeted strategies to reduce emissions by optimizing the built environment.