Assessing the impacts and driving factors of land regulation on urban and rural environmental pollution

Abstract

Land regulation plays a crucial role in shaping environmental outcomes in both urban and rural areas along with global climate change. This study examines the impacts of land regulation on environmental pollution and identifies key driving factors influencing this relationship. Using a comprehensive dataset and empirical analysis, we assess how land regulations affect environmental pollution levels across diverse regions. The findings reveal that although both urban and rural areas are making progress in reducing environmental pollution, rural areas remain more polluted than urban ones. Compared to 2007, the difference between rural and urban environmental pollution increased by 7.24 % in 2022. Urban and rural environmental pollution have exhibited opposing trends in their evolution. While urban environmental pollution has increased, rural environmental pollution has shown a declining trajectory. In 2010, the gap was the smallest, almost negligible (0.11). In 2021, the difference between rural and urban pollution levels reached its peak (9.78), meaning the gap between the two was at its widest. The research shows that in urban region, factors like land regulation (−0.252), economic development (−0.438), industrialization (−1.734), marketization (−0.700), and environmental regulation (−0.428) are linked to lower pollution levels. On the other hand, urbanization (0.029) and global integration level (0.294) are the key factors that contribute to higher pollution level. While in rural region, economic growth (−0.686) helps reduce rural pollution, but factors like industrialization (1.387), urbanization (0.029), and increased market (2.075) or global integration (0.131) contribute to worsening pollution in rural areas. In the eastern and western region, the land regulation leads to a reduction in urban environmental pollution but results in an increase in rural environmental pollution. In the central region, the land regulation has no impact on urban environmental pollution but leads to an increase in rural environmental pollution. The research aims to make contribution by distinguishing the impacts of land regulation in urban and rural environmental settings and offering region-specific policy recommendations to balance development and environmental sustainability.