Linking Land Uses and Ecosystem Services Through a Bipartite Spatial Network: A Framework for Urban CO2 Mitigation

Urban CO2 mitigation strategies typically aim at particular zones or sectors but do not account for spatial interdependencies among different components within the city. Understanding how land uses emit within and across districts can reveal systemic leverage points for climate-resilient urban planning. This study applies a bipartite spatial network approach using high-resolution Urban Atlas land-use data and a hierarchical spatial framework for emissions and sequestration estimation. The approach links urban land uses to their emissions profiles, offering a structural view of how different areas interconnect within urban carbon dynamics, moving beyond fragmented emission accounting. Using the Reggio Calabria Functional Urban Area in Italy as a case study, the analysis identifies influential areas and emission-intensive land uses. Subsequently, using centrality metrics highlights the spatial units with strong connections to emission-dense land uses, marking them as points of intervention. Results show that although 53% of districts act as net carbon sinks, their sequestration capacity is outweighed by the intensity of a smaller group of emitter districts. Among these, five central districts (IDs 94, 82, 107, 108, and 72) emit over 500 million kg CO2 per year, making them leverage points for systemic mitigation. The integration of bipartite spatial network and multiscale territorial analysis provides a replicable, data-driven framework for urban CO2 mitigation. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that mapping emissions through spatial interdependencies enables planners to target interventions where localized action yields the greatest network-wide climate impact.