Due to divergent natural resource endowments, green space development, and levels of ecological conservation, cross-national disparities in green resource distribution exist at a national scale. These disparities, compounded by heterogeneous economic, cultural, and institutional contexts, drive spatial inequities and temporal variations in urban green space. Consequently, this section adopts a national comparative perspective to assess and identify macro-level manifestations of urban green space equity. To explain the contradictory conclusions on green equity that arise from different cities using varied metrics and being at different stages of development, this study adopts a national comparative perspective. It categorizes the drivers of inequity into three dimensions: residential segregation (affecting residential green space), resource endowments (affecting surrounding environmental greenness), and urban planning (affecting park accessibility). A study covering 263 cities nationwide—integrating multi-source data and using a modified Gini index based on housing prices—reveals a core paradox: economic development helps improve equity in the “residential segregation” and “resource endowment” dimensions but exacerbates inequity in “park accessibility,” a trend driven by the land-finance model. Regionally, the inequity in park accessibility is most pronounced in eastern coastal cities. To propose more actionable planning advice, the research moves beyond macroeconomic factors and uses explainable machine learning to quantify the non-linear impacts of the spatial-morphological characteristics of green spaces themselves on equity. It finds that the overall layout and patch morphology of the green space system are more critical than its internal vegetation quality. Among these characteristics, dispersion has the strongest influence, with an optimal “sweet spot” rather than a linear effect. The proportion of small green spaces is the next most important, where their cumulative area is key. Proximity is also crucial, showing that equity improves significantly when the average distance between parks is less than approximately 450 m. Furthermore, more complex green space boundaries also promote equity. These findings indicate that enhancing urban green equity requires a shift from “increasing quantity” to “improving quality” through the fine-grained spatial optimization of the green space system. Strategies must be tailored to different city types, such as polycentric metropolises versus monocentric smaller towns. Ultimately, the effective implementation of these planning strategies depends on robust public participation mechanisms.

Research Perspective on National Scale of Urban Green Space and Equity

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发表日期：

2026年

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Jiayu Wu

摘要

Due to divergent natural resource endowments, green space development, and levels of ecological conservation, cross-national disparities in green resource distribution exist at a national scale. These disparities, compounded by heterogeneous economic, cultural, and institutional contexts, drive spatial inequities and temporal variations in urban green space. Consequently, this section adopts a national comparative perspective to assess and identify macro-level manifestations of urban green space equity. To explain the contradictory conclusions on green equity that arise from different cities using varied metrics and being at different stages of development, this study adopts a national comparative perspective. It categorizes the drivers of inequity into three dimensions: residential segregation (affecting residential green space), resource endowments (affecting surrounding environmental greenness), and urban planning (affecting park accessibility). A study covering 263 cities nationwide—integrating multi-source data and using a modified Gini index based on housing prices—reveals a core paradox: economic development helps improve equity in the “residential segregation” and “resource endowment” dimensions but exacerbates inequity in “park accessibility,” a trend driven by the land-finance model. Regionally, the inequity in park accessibility is most pronounced in eastern coastal cities. To propose more actionable planning advice, the research moves beyond macroeconomic factors and uses explainable machine learning to quantify the non-linear impacts of the spatial-morphological characteristics of green spaces themselves on equity. It finds that the overall layout and patch morphology of the green space system are more critical than its internal vegetation quality. Among these characteristics, dispersion has the strongest influence, with an optimal “sweet spot” rather than a linear effect. The proportion of small green spaces is the next most important, where their cumulative area is key. Proximity is also crucial, showing that equity improves significantly when the average distance between parks is less than approximately 450 m. Furthermore, more complex green space boundaries also promote equity. These findings indicate that enhancing urban green equity requires a shift from “increasing quantity” to “improving quality” through the fine-grained spatial optimization of the green space system. Strategies must be tailored to different city types, such as polycentric metropolises versus monocentric smaller towns. Ultimately, the effective implementation of these planning strategies depends on robust public participation mechanisms.