Spatial Analysis of Industrial Location, Environmental Inequity, and Community Exposure in Port Harcourt

Environmental justice questions concerning the disproportionate siting of hazardous industrial facilities in proximity to low-income and marginalised communities are particularly salient in Port Harcourt, Rivers State's industrial capital in the South South geopolitical zone, where oil refinery complexes, gas flaring sites, and industrial estates adjoin densely populated residential neighbourhoods with limited political power to resist siting decisions. This study conducts a spatial analysis of industrial location, environmental inequality, and community exposure to pollution in Port Harcourt using an environmental justice analytical framework. Locations of 112 registered industrial facilities were mapped and classified by pollution potential using emission inventory data from the Federal Ministry of Environment. Buffer-based exposure metrics and kernel density estimates of industrial hazard intensity were computed for ward-level population clusters. Socioeconomic characteristics of wards were derived from the National Bureau of Statistics household survey, including poverty headcount, educational attainment, and occupational profile. Regression analysis tested whether ward-level socioeconomic disadvantage predicts cumulative industrial hazard exposure, controlling for industrial land zoning designations and historical facility establishment dates. Results confirm a statistically significant positive association between poverty incidence and cumulative industrial exposure intensity (beta = 0.44, p < 0.01), consistent with environmental justice theory. Industrial facilities established after 2010 show stronger socioeconomic siting bias than older facilities, suggesting that disadvantaged communities have become progressively less able to resist unwanted facility siting over time. The study makes an original contribution by applying formal environmental justice analysis methods for the first time to Port Harcourt's industrial geography. Keywords: environmental justice, industrial location, Port Harcourt, South South Nigeria, spatial analysis.