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This study investigates how changes in urban vegetation and land use impact heat stress and air quality in semi-arid cities.

July 2, 2026ForestsOpen Access

Urban Vegetation Dynamics and Thermal Regulation in Semi-Arid Cities: Geospatial Education of Green Infrastructure Potential in the Northern Cape

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Randomized trial examines urban vegetation's role in thermal regulation and air quality in semi-arid areas, suggesting climate-sensitive planning.

This study investigates how changes in urban vegetation and land use impact heat stress and air quality in semi-arid cities.
Conducted LULC and NDVI analysis using multi-temporal Landsat satellite imagery (2004-2024)
Utilized the Integrated Spatial Justice-Ecosystem Services Framework for analysis
Applied Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) to determine drivers of vegetation loss
Dense vegetation LULC declined from 9021.77 km2 (2.4%) to 1262.10 km2 (0.3%) while barren land expanded from 73,417.01 km2 (19.7%) to 222,866.82 km2 (59.8%)
Confirmed spatial clustering of NDVI decline affecting 66.5% of the study area (Moran's I = 0.7843, p < 0.0001)
NDVI decline was significant over 23.5% of the area at a 99% confidence level, indicating urgent need for urban forest corridors and greening interventions

Olatoye et al. (2026) studied this question.

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Randomized trial examines urban vegetation's role in thermal regulation and air quality in semi-arid areas, suggesting climate-sensitive planning.