Spatiotemporal analysis of traffic congestion, air pollution, and exposure vulnerability in Tanzania

Using new satellite data from the European Space Agency's Sentinel-5P system, this article investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of vehicular traffic congestion, air pollution, and the distributional impacts on vulnerable populations in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The metro region's rapid growth in vehicle traffic exceeds road network capacity, generating congestion, transport delays, and air pollution from excess fuel use. Dangerously high pollution levels from tailpipe emissions put the health of vulnerable residents at risk, calling for the need to adopt continuous air-quality monitoring and effective pollution control. Our results highlight significant impacts of seasonal weather and wind-speed factors on the spatial distribution and intensity of air pollution from vehicle emissions, which vary widely by area. In seasons when weather factors maximize pollution, the worst exposure occurs along the wind path of high-traffic roadways. The study identifies priority areas for reducing congestion to yield the greatest exposure reduction for young children and the elderly in poor households. This new research direction, based only on the use of free global information sources with the same coverage for all cities, offers metropolitan areas in developing regions the opportunity to benefit from the rigorous analyses traditionally limited to well-endowed cites in developing countries.