Is Green Enough? A Remote Sensing Assessment of Environmental Impacts and Green Commitments at Beijing Daxing International Airport

TL;DR

This study uses remote sensing data to evaluate whether Beijing Daxing International Airport's green infrastructure efforts effectively improved environmental conditions, revealing partial success and areas needing improvement.

Contribution

It introduces a remote sensing framework for assessing environmental impacts of large infrastructure projects, highlighting the importance of independent, spatially explicit monitoring.

Findings

Partial vegetation recovery observed

Increase in built-up areas and surface temperatures

Gap identified between green design and ecological outcomes

Abstract

Beijing Daxing International Airport has been promoted as a model of green infrastructure under China's ecological modernization agenda. Featuring energy-efficient design, renewable energy systems, and smart environmental controls, the airport embodies multiple green commitments. This study evaluates its environmental outcomes using multi-source remote sensing data -- including NDVI, NDBI, Land Surface Temperature (LST), VIIRS night-time lights, and PM2.5 -- from 2014 to 2019. Through spatial and temporal comparisons, we assess landscape-level changes during and after construction. Findings indicate partial gains from green initiatives but also reveal substantial vegetation loss, increased built-up surfaces, and intensified surface temperatures. The results suggest a gap between sustainable design and ecological impact. We propose a remote-sensing-based framework for evaluating future infrastructure projects, emphasizing the need for spatially explicit, independent monitoring to ensure environmental accountability.