As per my understanding in a residential area built environment likely to affect air flow of a place and hence air quality is also should be affected. Need views of the researchers on this.
Urban air quality generally differs from rural air quality since there are more concentrated sources and the ability for the pollutants in the air. I would suggest the following research paper for more information:
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/2964/pdf
That goes both ways. It will depend on the existing air quality over the course of dispersion of the residential built environment. When the natural outdoor airflow is polluted, this directly impacts the ability of the built environment to perform in a sustainable way. Passive ventilation strategies often unsuitable and pose health risks and energy-utilising air filtration is often used as an alternative. This can further increase energy use from a building, especially when using less efficient mechanical ventilation systems, which result in pollution multiplier effect. Increased use of ventilation systems is understood to create local microclimatic warming impact due to expulsion of hot air, exacerbating the urban heat island effect. The risk from outdoor pollution remains present even inside buildings with limited exposure to toxic materials or chemicals. As a matter of fact, most exposure to outdoor air pollutants actually occurs when inside buildings, due to infiltration through windows, apertures or cracks in the building fabric.