Inequality in the provision of urban green spaces (UGS) poses a growing obstacle to achieving sustainable development goals and building inclusive and resilient urban environments. However, the key drivers of UGS development and the extent to which their relative importance in different urban contexts remain unclear. This study provides a global analysis of the socio-economic, geographical, and climate determinants of UGS inequality across 11 528 cities by assessing dynamic changes in UGS against the global average. We find that cities in Asia and Africa (6414 cities of 78 countries) are generally converging toward the global mean from below, while those in North America and Europe (1416 cities of 46 countries) gradually lost their relative advantages in UGS development. The relative greenness in 13% of the study cities were mainly influenced by built-up area per capita, in 35% by night lightening index, in 9% by GDP per capita, and in 22% by precipitation. We identified three dominant typologies of drivers: those tied to economic intensity GDP per capita, urbanization pressure (nighttime light index), and biophysical constraints (biome & built-up area). These typologies align with urban developmental pathways from take-off to mature stabilization, revealing a spectrum of stage-specific challenges. These findings underscore that effective UGS strategies should be tailored to local contexts, make reasonable use of urban ecological endowments, adapt to climate constraints, and integrate green space planning into the specific stage of urban development.

Read original article

Read original article