Industrial Pollutions and Sundry Pavements: An Examination of Impervious Surface and the Carbon Intensity of Well-Being

• In Event: 2251 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 4. Emissions and Economic Growth: State and National Trends and Comparisons

Abstract

We contribute to contemporary literature exploring the socio-ecological impact of urbanization as a multi-dimensional project, one in which landscape features complement population, demographic, and administrative measures to co-constitute the socio-ecological impact of urbanity. We use a random coefficients modeling approach to examine relationships in the United States between (1) the intensity of impervious surface within a county and population density in impervious areas and (2) the Carbon Intensity of Well-Being (CIWB), here constructed using industrial production-based emissions. We then explore the moderating effect that another component of social settlement patterns, household median income, has on the impervious surface/CIWB and population density/CIWB relationships. Findings suggest that landscapes featuring greater development of impervious surface are associated with increased CIWB. Further exploration indicates, however, that income acts to attenuate the effect of these components of urbanization processes on CIWB.

Authors

• Patrick Trent Greiner, Vanderbilt University

• Daniel Shtob, University of Oregon

• Jordan Fox Besek, State University of New York at Buffalo