Advancing SDG 11: A Principal Component Analysis of Environmental Degradation Drivers in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Sustainable Development Goal 11 promotes inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities by 2030. This study examined the drivers of environmental degradation in Ogbomoso City, Nigeria, focusing on Ogbomoso North and Ogbomoso South Local Government Areas. A total of 600 questionnaires were administered across 20 wards, with 30 households randomly selected from each ward. In all, 531 valid responses were analyzed, comprising 272 from Ogbomoso North and 259 from Ogbomoso South. Principal Component Analysis was used to identify the dominant environmental degradation patterns. The Kaiser‐Meyer‐Olkin values were 0.890 for Ogbomoso North and 0.709 for Ogbomoso South, while Bartlett's test was significant at p < 0.001, confirming the suitability of the datasets for component extraction. In Ogbomoso North, major variables included filling stations (0.870), urban gardening (0.857), cassava processing mills (0.852), government establishments (0.836), food/drink cafeterias (0.862), educational institutions (0.848), motor parks (0.738), panel/painters’ workshops (0.907), mechanic workshops (0.898), and poor housing pattern (0.614). These reflect a formal urban area shaped by institutional concentration, mobility‐related activities, light industrial operations, and housing pressure. In Ogbomoso South, seven variables were retained from 21 variables, explaining 66.04% of the total variance. These included in‐urban piggery (0.667), fruit selling points (0.736), slaughter slabs (0.747), unplanned refuse dumps (0.854), religious centers (0.625), poor urban planning (0.810), and cattle herding (0.595). The findings show that Ogbomoso North is more formal but increasingly pressured, while Ogbomoso South is more peri‐urban, informal, and environmentally vulnerable. The study recommends improved waste management, stricter land‐use control, infrastructure upgrading, and livelihood‐sensitive environmental planning.