Seeing vertical greenery: Global differences in residents’ green exposure and inequality

Abstract. Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.7.1—“providing universal access to safe, inclusive, accessible, and green public spaces by 2030”—underscores the critical role of urban green space in advancing global sustainability. Although extensive research has examined urban greenery from a traditional planar perspective, green spaces inherently possess vertical structure. Currently, systematic quantitative assessments of urban vertical greenery, residents’ actual exposure to vertical green space, and the associated inequalities remain limited. To address these gaps, this study integrates global population data with vegetation height information to construct an exposure-based analytical framework.We quantify spatial patterns of vertical greenery, residents’ green exposure, and exposure inequality across global urban areas, and further examine the drivers of inequality. Our findings reveal pronounced spatial disparities in urban greenery worldwide. On average, cities in the Global North exhibit approximately three times greater vertical greenery and nearly four times higher green exposure than cities in the Global South. African urban areas possess only one-sixth of the average vertical greenery and one-seventh of the exposure level observed in North America, while displaying roughly twice the inequality in green exposure, indicating much more uneven access to green resources. We also find that cities with higher average vertical greenery tend to experience lower exposure inequality, suggesting that increasing overall greenery can help promote more equitable access. These results provide new theoretical insights and policy-relevant evidence for advancing sustainable and equitable urban green development, supporting global progress toward sustainable development goals.