Who Gets Less Urban Greenness: A Case Study of Sydney

Abstract

Inequalities in urban greenness have been investigated based on multi-source data. However, studies in Australia often overlook eye-level greenness—an important measure that captures human-perceived greenery. This study examines Sydney’s eye-level greenness using Google Street View images and employs Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) to analyse its association with neighbourhood socio-economic status. The findings reveal that older adults in central Sydney may experience inadequate greenness. Female, unmarried, non-English, indigenous, less-skilled, and unemployed individuals are more likely to face insufficient greenness outside the city centre. Additionally, foreign-born, low-income, carless, and less-educated individuals may experience greenery shortages in both central and suburban Sydney. This study explores Google-Street-View-derived urban greenness—a less employed data source in Australia, offering valuable insights for policymakers in mitigating green space inequalities.