Towards a Sustainable Industrial City: Spatial Analysis of Gaseous Emissions and Their Developmental Impacts in Zliten City
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65405/gcqt8d81Keywords:
Sustainable Industrial City; Gaseous Emissions; Air Pollution; Spatial Analysis; GIS; Sentinel-5P; TROPOMI; Industrial Management; Sustainable Development; Zliten; LibyaAbstract
Background: Industrial development plays an important role in employment creation, infrastructure expansion, construction activity, and economic development; however, the spatial concentration of industrial activities can generate environmental externalities that challenge the sustainability of surrounding urban areas. Zliten City represents an important Libyan case because industrial activities, particularly cement and construction-material production, coexist with rapid urban growth, intensive transportation, waste-disposal activities, and expanding residential land uses. The study therefore addresses a gap in the Libyan literature by integrating industrial management, atmospheric pollution, and spatial sustainability within a single analytical framework.
Objective: This study aimed to analyze the spatial distribution and temporal variability of gaseous atmospheric pollutants in Zliten City and assess their environmental and developmental implications in order to support the city's transition toward a sustainable industrial-development model.
Methods: A spatiotemporal descriptive-analytical approach was employed using Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI satellite observations integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. Atmospheric data covering 2019–2024 were analyzed for sulfur dioxide (SO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and ozone (O₃). Quality-controlled satellite observations were used to examine temporal variability, spatial distribution, and potential pollution hotspots and to interpret their spatial relationships with industrial activities, transportation corridors, populated areas, waste-related activities, and surrounding land uses.
Results: The analysis revealed considerable spatial and temporal heterogeneity in atmospheric pollution across the study area, indicating that environmental pressure is not uniformly distributed. SO₂ concentrations displayed pronounced monthly and interannual fluctuations, with elevated winter concentrations and substantial variation throughout 2019–2024. CO concentrations similarly exhibited persistent temporal variation; the annual mean declined to 29,283.11 ppb in 2022 before increasing to 32,207.52 ppb in 2024, indicating the absence of a sustained improvement trajectory. Spatial interpretation further suggested that areas of elevated pollution may correspond with combinations of industrial activity, transportation, urban concentration, waste disposal, and other combustion-related sources. However, spatial coincidence was treated as evidence of potential source influence rather than definitive causation because atmospheric transport and meteorological conditions can modify observed pollutant distributions.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that sustainable industrial development in Zliten requires a transition from conventional pollution monitoring toward spatially integrated environmental management. Industrial sustainability cannot be achieved solely through end-of-pipe emission controls; it requires cleaner production, technological modernization, improved energy and transportation efficiency, effective waste management, continuous air-quality monitoring, land-use compatibility, and stronger environmental governance. GIS and satellite remote sensing can therefore function as strategic decision-support instruments for identifying priority intervention areas, designing buffer zones, guiding industrial expansion, and integrating environmental considerations into urban-development decisions. The study concludes that Zliten's transition toward a sustainable industrial city depends on its ability to decouple industrial and developmental value creation from increasing environmental pressure, thereby transforming air-quality information into an operational component of industrial management and spatial planning.
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