ORCID
- Clive E. Sabel: 0000-0001-9180-4861
Abstract
Equitable provision of urban green space depends on how green space exposure is measured, yet aggregate, quantity-focused metrics can mask disparities in quality. We introduce the concept of deceptive equity, in which apparent distributional fairness conceals substantive inequality, and test it across 344 postcode areas in Sendai, Japan. Across three dimensions — ecological (NDVI), perceptual (Green View Index) and service provision (accessible park count) — we paired a quantity indicator with a quality indicator. A quantity–quality divergence emerged in every dimension: wherever a quality indicator showed a significant socioeconomic gradient it favoured affluent areas, whereas the corresponding quantity indicators were neutral or favoured deprived areas. Deprived areas could reach more parks overall (Spearman's ρ = 0.43, p ' 0.001), yet access to large parks favoured affluent areas (ρ = −0.36, p ' 0.001), as did tree-dominated street greenery (ρ = −0.32, p ' 0.001). Several vegetation and street-greenery indicators also followed U-shaped relationships invisible to linear analysis; for dense vegetation, moderately deprived neighbourhoods reached only 39–52% of the levels at both socioeconomic extremes. Quality deficits further aligned spatially with deprivation, forming contiguous dual-burden zones. Aggregate metrics can therefore misrepresent environmental justice; equity assessment requires within-indicator disaggregation and nonlinear analysis, with policy tailored to both deprived peripheries and land-constrained mid-deprivation areas.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2026-08-24
Publication Title
Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
Volume
125
ISSN
1618-8667
Acceptance Date
2026-08-24
Deposit Date
2026-09-04
Funding
This study was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grants (Grant Nos. 25KJ0575, and 20H00040). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection or analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Additional Links
Keywords
Environmental justice, Exposure indicators, Nonlinear relationships, Socioeconomic deprivation, Spatial inequality, Street greenery, Urban parks
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Xian, Z., Suzuki, Y., Liu, K., Sabel, C., Nakaya, N., Hozawa, A., & Nakaya, T. (2026) 'Quality reveals what quantity conceals: Deceptive equity patterns in urban green space distribution', Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 125. Available at: 10.1016/j.ufug.2026.129647
