Reduction in Pollution Levels through Urban Air Quality Monitoring Systems Deployment in South African Slums: Impacts on Public Health Outcomes

Urban air pollution is a significant public health issue in South African slums, where high levels of particulate matter (PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀) pose substantial risks to respiratory and cardiovascular health. The research employed longitudinal data from twelve randomly selected urban slums across Johannesburg. Air quality sensors were installed at strategic locations for continuous monitoring over a period of three years. Public health indicators such as hospital admissions related to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases were collected and analysed using generalized linear models (GLMs). The deployment of air quality monitoring systems resulted in an average reduction of 20% in PM₂.₅ levels, with significant decreases observed in specific urban centers. The study provides evidence that urban air quality monitoring can lead to substantial reductions in pollution and improve public health outcomes in South African slums. Public health interventions should be complemented by the deployment of additional air quality monitoring systems to further reduce pollution levels and enhance population health in affected areas. Treatment effect was estimated with logit(pᵢ)=β₀+β^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.