The Driving Influence of Multi-Dimensional Urbanization on PM 2.5 Concentrations in Africa: New Evidence from Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data, 2000–2018

Guoen Wei, Pingjun Sun, Shengnan Jiang, Yang Shen, Binglin Liu, Zhenke Zhang and Xiao Ouyang
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Guoen Wei: College of Geography and Ocean Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Pingjun Sun: College of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400700, China
Shengnan Jiang: College of Geography and Ocean Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Yang Shen: College of Geography and Ocean Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Binglin Liu: College of Geography and Ocean Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Zhenke Zhang: College of Geography and Ocean Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Xiao Ouyang: Hunan Institute of Economic Geography, Hunan University of Finance and Economics, Changsha 410205, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-23

Abstract: Africa’s PM 2.5 pollution has become a security hazard, but the understanding of the varying effects of urbanization on driven mechanisms of PM 2.5 concentrations under the rapid urbanization remains largely insufficient. Compared with the direct impact, the spillover effect of urbanization on PM 2.5 concentrations in adjacent regions was underestimated. Urbanization is highly multi-dimensional phenomenon and previous studies have rarely distinguished the different driving influence and interactions of multi-dimensional urbanization on PM 2.5 concentrations in Africa. This study combined grid and administrative units to explore the spatio-temporal change, spatial dependence patterns, and evolution trend of PM 2.5 concentrations and multi-dimensional urbanization in Africa. The differential influence and interaction effects of multi-dimensional urbanization on PM 2.5 concentrations under Africa’s rapid urbanization was further analyzed. The results show that the positive spatial dependence of PM 2.5 concentrations gradually increased over the study period 2000–2018. The areas with PM 2.5 concentrations exceeding 35 ?g/m 3 increased by 2.2%, and 36.78% of the African continent had an increasing trend in Theil–Sen index. Urbanization was found to be the main driving factor causing PM 2.5 concentrations changes, and economic urbanization had a stronger influence on air quality than land urbanization or population urbanization. Compared with the direct effect, the spillover effect of urbanization on PM 2.5 concentrations in two adjacent regions was stronger, particularly in terms of economic urbanization. The spatial distribution of PM 2.5 concentrations resulted from the interaction of multi-dimensional urbanization. The interaction of urbanization of any two different dimensions exhibited a nonlinear enhancement effect on PM 2.5 concentrations. Given the differential impact of multi-dimensional urbanization on PM 2.5 concentrations inside and outside the region, this research provides support for the cross-regional joint control strategies of air pollution in Africa. The findings also indicate that PM 2.5 pollution control should not only focus on urban economic development strategies but should be an optimized integration of multiple mitigation strategies, such as improving residents’ lifestyles, optimizing land spatial structure, and upgrading the industrial structure.

Keywords: PM 2.5 concentrations; multi-dimensional urbanization; spatial regression model; spillover effect; African region (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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