A framework for linking urban form and air quality

The importance of urban form in the quest for sustainable development has been recognised in a number of countries in recent years. However, there has been limited progress in bringing environmental planning into the sphere of urban systems planning. This situation can be largely attributed to the absence of advanced integrated land use– transport–environment modelling tools capable of analysing the behaviour of complex, dynamic systems. This paper describes an initial attempt to develop a framework for integrating land use, transport and airshed models for evaluating the effect of city form on air quality. The framework identifies the relationship between various components such as the GIS database, the land use–transport–environment module and the airshed model. Issues concerning the structure and robustness of the framework are discussed and results from a recent air quality inquiry are presented.