Planning a better land use composition for cleaner air in Iskandar Malaysia

Historical data and several ambient air quality studies indicate that several large cities in Malaysia (including Johor Bahru; part of Iskandar Malaysia) are facing high concentration of air pollutants that are not always at acceptable levels (DOE, 2008). Among the major pollutants are particulate matter (PM10) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) which are the subject of this study. In climatic influence, particulate matters warm the air by absorbing sunlight and later release heat in the atmosphere (Carmichael and Ramanathan, 2008). In the meantime, the NO2 emissions in Malaysia were estimated around 203,235 metric tonnes in 2008 and more than half of NO2 emissions in Malaysia are from motor vehicles (DOE, 2010). Land use composition plays a major role in influencing the number of vehicles as well as other air polluting activities and therefore a significant factor in reducing PM10 and NO2 emissions. This study sets out to investigate the relationship between the concentration of ambient PM10 and NO2 and land use composition of Iskandar Malaysia, the study area.