Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Environment, Economics and Politics
Reader 1
Nicholas Kacher
Reader 2
Kathleen Purvis-Roberts
Rights Information
Alondra Cobian
Abstract
Air quality plays a significant role in economics. Housing markets have established the importance of air quality in relation to housing prices and housing density. Negative externalities, including human health impacts like respiratory illnesses from air pollution, underlie the importance of air quality. This thesis analyzes the impacts of zoning restrictiveness on air quality to understand how land use impacts environmental factors. This study implements a linear regression model and a multivariable regression model using the 2018 Wharton Residential Land Use Index (WRLURI) and 2018 Air Quality Index data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Rural-Urban Continuum Codes from the United States Department of Agriculture are used to further analyze the relationship between land restrictions and air quality across counties in the United States. Results show that as land-use restrictions increase AQI increases, and rural areas have better air quality. Land use regulations are significant without adding rural-urban continuum codes as a control. This presents an opportunity for further research on the potential impacts that land regulation has on air quality.
Recommended Citation
Cobian, Alondra, "The Effects of Zoning Regulatory Restrictions on Air Quality Across United States Counties" (2025). Scripps Senior Theses. 2498.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/2498
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.