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In order to study influence of automobile traffic on a local urban atmospheric environment, we have investigated suspended particulate matter (SPM) collected at sampling sites in a region which includes a major highway and a residential area in the southern part of Tokyo during August - November 1999. The atomic composition of each sample was measured by means of PIXE analysis using a 2.0 MeV proton beam. Sixteen elements were quantitatively measured. The positional dependence of SPM loading was determined for each element using samples simultaneously collected at three different sites. For the experimental results obtained for downwind conditions, the measured concentration as a function of the distance from the highway was compared with a simple calculation based on the Gaussian plume model. The concentration distribution of some heavy elements in the fine fraction is well reproduced by this analysis. It has been found that for ordinary moderate downwind conditions the area within 300-400 m from the highway is directly affected by emission due to the automobile traffic.

In order to study the influence of motor vehicles on a local soil environment, depth profiles of elemental concentration of urban roadside soil were investigated by means of thick-target PIXE analysis. For comparison, we analyzed the soil sampled in a university campus with very low traffic intensity. From the measured depth profiles, it was found that the roadside surface layers up to the depth of approximately 5 cm from the ground level are highly polluted by S and Zn. According to cluster analysis this pollution can be attributed to the deposition of tire dust due to the heavy vehicular traffic volumes on the highways.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. However, urbanization and energy supply are essential to the ASEAN economy. This study examines the effects of CO₂ emissions and urban population on GDP per capita in 10 ASEAN countries from 1995 to 2021. Furthermore, ASEAN countries are divided into three income groups. According to the results of this study’s panel data analysis, urban population, and CO₂ emissions per capita have a positive effect on GDP per capita, respectively. However, both urban population and CO₂ emissions per capita reduce GDP per capita. While CO₂ emissions per capita and GDP per capita have a negative relationship in low- and high-income countries, the urban population positively impacts GDP per capita across the ASEAN region’s income levels. In low- and high-income countries, urban population, and CO₂ emissions per capita have a positive impact on GDP per capita.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory, happiness is a higher-level demand that people have spare no effort to pursue until they meet basic needs. As a subjective feeling, happiness is affected by many factors. For example, personal characteristic factors include gender, age, marital status, health level, economic income, nationality, and others. However, the impact of objective factors on happiness has gradually attracted scholars’ and the governments’ attention, including urban economic development, social infrastructure, and economic infrastructure, which will have a corresponding impact on residents’ happiness. This study applies spatial visualization technology to investigate the importance of the urban environment on residents’ happiness. The spatial visualization map of residents’ environmental satisfaction shows that people in the east and north are happier than the rest of the regions. Moreover, in terms of education, medical care, transportation, and lighting in residential areas, cities in the eastern region have higher satisfaction. Overall, nine environmental factors are considered in the econometric model, and the results show that urban traffic satisfaction has the greatest impact on residents’ happiness. This study aims to systematically investigate the mechanism of residents’ happiness from the perspective of the urban environment, which is different from previous studies, and points out the importance of the urban environment to citizens.